A year before, on Aug. 4, 2010, Olson and Boies won an unprecedented victory for marriage equality when District Court Judge Vaughn Walker concluded in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that, "Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis."
"They have changed the entire dialogue on this issue," said ABA President Zack. "Together they can only be described as a force of nature."
Boies accepted the award on behalf of "so many other people" who made "contributions [to the fight for equality] under much more difficult circumstances."
AFER, Boies and Olson will be back in court on September 6 for oral arguments in front of the California Supreme Court on the question of whether under California law official proponents of a ballot initiative have an interest in defending the initiative when it is challenged in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit deemed the question essential to its determination as to whether the official proponents of Proposition 8 have standing to appeal Judge Vaughn R. Walker's ruling from last summer.
In a separate hearing on August 29, AFER will go before the U.S. District Court to ask that the videotape of the District Court trial be released so that the public can see what happened at trial. Prop. 8 proponents have repeatedly tried to shield the tapes from the public.
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Hunger Games 2 comes out soon and I can't wait. I've read the series of books (and shared it with a few folks via Kindle!). How many of you are excited to see it come out?
On Monday, Aug. 8, the American Foundation for Equal Rights' (AFER) lead attorneys, David Boies and Theodore B. Olson, were honored with the most prestigious award their legal peers can bestow - the American Bar Association Medal.
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We want to know your opinion on this issue! While arguing about an opinion or idea is encouraged, personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please be respectful of others.
The editorial team will delete a comment that is off-topic, abusive, exceptionally incoherent, includes a slur or is soliciting and/or advertising. Repeated violations of the policy will result in revocation of your user account. Please keep in mind that this is our online home; ill-mannered house guests will be shown the door.