San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Video of samesex marriage trial to be released
Ten years after a historic trial in San Francisco on the right to samesex marriage, a federal judge has ordered a videotape of the proceedings unsealed next month so that the public could finally view it.
The nonjury trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker included testimony by gay and lesbian couples and by supporters of Proposition 8, the 2008 state ballot initiative that had prohibited samesex marriage in California.
At the end of the trial, Walker declared Prop. 8 unconstitutional, a ruling that took effect statewide in 2013 after the Supreme Court ruled that sponsors of the ballot measure had no legal standing to represent the voters who had approved it. State officials had declined to defend Prop. 8 in court. Two years later, the high court declared a constitutional right to samesex marriage nationwide.
Walker allowed video cameras to record the trial, but the Supreme Court, which bars cameras from its own hearings, refused to let him telecast the proceedings live to other federal courthouses or transfer them to YouTube for sameday posting. Backers of Prop. 8 had told the high court that their witnesses feared retaliation if the trial was telecast.
Walker retired from the bench in 2012. Federal courts kept the video sealed, citing Walker’s comment that he had kept it only to help him prepare his ruling. But the San Franciscobased court has a 10year limit on sealing most types of documents, and on Thursday U.S. District Judge William Orrick III said sponsors of Prop. 8 had failed to justify keeping the recording hidden from public view.
“There is no evidence that any proponent (of Prop. 8) or trial witness fears retaliation or harassment,” Orrick said. “On the undisputed record before me, there is no justification, much less a compelling one, to keep the trial recordings under seal any longer.”
He ordered the video unsealed for public viewing on Aug. 12, when the 10year deadline expires, unless a higher court intervenes.
The lawsuit to unseal the video was filed by public broadcaster KQED, which said it plans to use the recording in radio and television broadcasts and post excerpts online. It was supported in court by 36 media organizations, including Hearst Corp., which owns The Chronicle.
“The Prop. 8 trial was a historic moment for the federal judiciary and the nation,” Thomas Burke, a lawyer for KQED, said after Thursday’s ruling. “One wonders why the proponents of Prop. 8 continue to insist on keeping secret the video of a public trial.”
Charles Cooper, a lawyer for backers of the ballot measure, said he disagrees with the ruling, believes courts remain bound by Walker’s commitment to keep the video sealed and plans to appeal.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko