Lawyers leading the fight for gay marriage in California have been quietly preparing state officials for the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court might dismiss the case on a technicality next month without deciding the fate of Proposition 8.

The justices could decide that the sponsors of the ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage had no legal right, or standing, to defend it in federal court. That would end the case in Washington, but it is not clear what it would mean for California.

Join Times legal reporter Maura Dolan at 9 a.m. Thursday to discuss the possibilities and the implications for gay marriage in California.

PHOTOS: Supreme Court considers gay marriage


If state officials declared Proposition 8 dead, relying on U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s 2010 ruling against the measure, same-sex weddings could commence within weeks or months. Or there could be another legal fight over the reach of Walker’s ruling.

That technicality has prompted fierce arguments among prominent law professors over legal procedure. Their debate has taken place on legal blogs, with scholars staking out sharply different stands.

“It’s become a cottage industry,” said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer for the challengers.

Depending on what the Supreme Court decides, a ruling on standing could provoke a fight over whether the San Francisco judge’s decision applies statewide or only to the two couples who sued or the counties where they live, Los Angeles and Alameda.

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