Pam's House Blend has good post that updates yesterday's activities in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trail. It is noteworthy that the supporters of Proposition 8 have decided to drastically reduced the number of witnesses they plan to call - all the way down to two (2), in fact. Indeed, it increasingly appears that the defense's witness could be more of a liability than a help to them. As a result, the defense's principal tactic will be to use cross-examination to try to impugn the testimony of witnesses for those seeking to have Proposition 8 declared unconstitutional. Obviously, as a trial posture, this is not a case of defending the lawsuit from a position of strength. I very much like the Olson-Boies approach of loading the trial record with fact matters. Should the plaintiffs succeed, the large amount of testimony and data submitted to the trial court will make it far more difficult for any appellate court reviewing the case to try to ignore the case record and decide the matter only based only on a religious based beliefs - something that will not make supreme homophobe, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, very happy. But then the decision should be based on the Constitution and not Scalia's intolerant personal religious beliefs. Here are some highlights:
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It was a phenomenal day in the courtroom, in particular testimony from Ryan Kendall about forced conversion therapy that moved many to tears. We also heard surprising revelations from experts who were supposed to support Prop 8 but whose opinions instead clearly shored up our side. After today, I wish more than ever that the public could be watching the video of this trial - I have truly never seen anything like it. Fortunately, daily transcripts of the trial are now being released with a one day delay and are available on AFER's website.
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It was immediately clear why the Prop 8 proponents had really withdrawn these two expert witnesses -- their testimony strongly supported the plaintiffs' claims, not the defense. Indeed, many in the courtroom appeared to be shocked by how much the defense's experts sounded like they should have been testifying for the plaintiffs. In particular, Dr. Young testified that: (1) homosexuality is a normal variant of human behavior; (2) there have been sub-traditions of allowing marriage between same-sex couples in a number of cultures; (3) allowing same-sex couples to marry enhances their security and well-being and is good for their children; and (4) studies show that there is no harm to children from being raised by gay parents and there is "no reason to predict harm." Dr. Nathanson testified that, in the past, religion has been used to justify discrimination against people based on race and gender in the name of "protecting the family." This testimony from the Prop 8 proponents' own witnesses powerfully refutes the defendants' claims.
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The plaintiff's next witness was Ryan Kendall, a gay man from Colorado who testified about his ordeal with family rejection and forced conversion therapy as a teenager. . . . Kendall testified that conversion therapy did not work for him -- "I knew I was gay, just like I knew that I was short and half-Hispanic." He also testified that as far as he knew, it did not work for others. In fact, Kendall recounted an incident that took place when he was in "therapy" with Niccolosi, who introduced him to a young man who allegedly had changed his sexual orientation from gay to straight. Kendall noted that when Niccolosi left the room, the man told him that he was going to a gay bar that night and that he was just pretending to be straight to please his parents.
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The rest of the day was spent on the testimony of Professor Gary Segura, a professor of political science at Stanford. . . . In some of the most dramatic evidence presented to date, Professor Segura commented upon a number of documents that provided a shocking glimpse of just how deeply the Catholic and Mormon churches were involved in supporting Prop 8 and intertwined with the official pro-Prop 8 campaign. "One document sent by executive director of the Conference of Catholic Bishops to bishops in California thanked the Catholic Conference for its "unusual" efforts in supporting Prop 8 and applauded the Mormon church for its "financial, organizational, and managerial contributions" to the campaign." Other documents detailed the Mormon Church's extensive collaboration with the campaign, including mobilizing more than 20,000 volunteers and coordinating messaging and fundraising. Professor Segura testified that this level of coordination among powerful religious groups to target a particular group was unprecedented.
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Thompson will complete his cross of Professor Segura tomorrow, and the plaintiffs will be calling Dr. Gregory Herek, an expert on sexual orientation, and William Tam, one of the official sponsors of Prop 8, as their final witnesses.
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William Tam's testimony could likewise prove damaging for the defense given his religious extremism and severely homophobic statements in the past. I hope plaintiffs' counsel eat him alive.
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The plaintiff's next witness was Ryan Kendall, a gay man from Colorado who testified about his ordeal with family rejection and forced conversion therapy as a teenager. . . . Kendall testified that conversion therapy did not work for him -- "I knew I was gay, just like I knew that I was short and half-Hispanic." He also testified that as far as he knew, it did not work for others. In fact, Kendall recounted an incident that took place when he was in "therapy" with Niccolosi, who introduced him to a young man who allegedly had changed his sexual orientation from gay to straight. Kendall noted that when Niccolosi left the room, the man told him that he was going to a gay bar that night and that he was just pretending to be straight to please his parents.
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The rest of the day was spent on the testimony of Professor Gary Segura, a professor of political science at Stanford. . . . In some of the most dramatic evidence presented to date, Professor Segura commented upon a number of documents that provided a shocking glimpse of just how deeply the Catholic and Mormon churches were involved in supporting Prop 8 and intertwined with the official pro-Prop 8 campaign. "One document sent by executive director of the Conference of Catholic Bishops to bishops in California thanked the Catholic Conference for its "unusual" efforts in supporting Prop 8 and applauded the Mormon church for its "financial, organizational, and managerial contributions" to the campaign." Other documents detailed the Mormon Church's extensive collaboration with the campaign, including mobilizing more than 20,000 volunteers and coordinating messaging and fundraising. Professor Segura testified that this level of coordination among powerful religious groups to target a particular group was unprecedented.
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Thompson will complete his cross of Professor Segura tomorrow, and the plaintiffs will be calling Dr. Gregory Herek, an expert on sexual orientation, and William Tam, one of the official sponsors of Prop 8, as their final witnesses.
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William Tam's testimony could likewise prove damaging for the defense given his religious extremism and severely homophobic statements in the past. I hope plaintiffs' counsel eat him alive.
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