Appling's lawsuit charges that the registry was a violation of the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which was approved by 59 percent of voters in a statewide referendum in 2006.

Fair Wisconsin, a statewide gay rights advocacy group, asked to intervene in the lawsuit, and several same-sex couples are now also defendants in the suit. The Chicago office of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a civil rights organization that focuses on gay issues, represents these couples and will continue to do, says attorney Christopher Clark.

Pines, who also represented Bill McConkey in his ultimately unsuccessful challenge to the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage, says he expected to be fired from the case. In fact, he is surprised it took this long.

"Gov. Walker is ideologically opposed to equal rights for gay and lesbian and transgendered people as is everyone in his administration as far as I can tell and they will be probably want to take steps to ensure that gay and lesbian and transgendered people do not have equal rights," Pines said.

"Everything that Gov. Walker is doing is ideological," Pines added. "I don't see that his administration has any particular respect for the law per se."