David Boies, speaking prior to the start of the trial over the constitutionality of Proposition 8 that he and Ted Olson are leading. (Photo by Diana Walker via AFER.)
On Friday, the American Foundation for Equal Rights sends word that, testimony of plaintiff witnesses will continue in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial over the constitutionality of Proposition 8. This is the fifth day of a trial that could last well into three weeks, based on the announcement from the Plaintiffs’ lawyers today that they expect to wrap up their case, assuming the pace of the first four days continues, by next Wednesday.
First up was Michael Lamb, Ph.D, a Professor and Head of the Department of Social and Developmental Psychology at Cambridge University. Lamb testified about gay and lesbian parenting and its impact on the adjustment of children and adolescents, and the benefits to children and adolescents if their same-sex parents were allowed to marry. Per the AP:
“For a significant number of these children, their adjustment would be promoted were their parents able to get married,” developmental psychologist Michael Lamb said while undercutting arguments made by sponsors of Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage ballot measure passed in 2008.
Lamb said there was no evidence that children with gay parents were more likely to become gay themselves or become victims of sexual abuse or incest.
In addition, he said no evidence exists that gays or lesbians are more likely to sexually abuse children.
“We have a substantial body of evidence documenting that a child being raised by same-sex parents are just as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents,” Lamb said.
The cross-examination, conducted by Attorney Thompson, the early focus was on differences between men and woman and a — time-tested argument of the Right — that children are worse off without one male and one female parent. The exchange included an eventual reference to breast-feeding, among other topics.
The cross-examination took up most of the day, with a tedious focus later in the day on the methodology of the roughly 100 studies referenced in Lamb’s work.
The re-direct was conducted by Matthew McGill of Gibson Dunn (bio) for the Plaintiffs. McGill, a Stanford Law graduate, clerked for then-D.C. Circuit Judge John Roberts, as well as Second Circuit Judge Joseph M. McLaughlin. He also served as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General at Justice.
Still up on Friday are to include:
- Helen Zia, a lesbian author who will testify about her sexual orientation, her experiences with discrimination, and the effects of being denied the right to marry her longtime partner.
- M.V. Lee Badgett, Ph.D., a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to testify about the private harms caused by Prop. 8 and the impact of same-sex marriage on the marriages of different-sex couples.
Law Dork coverage of the trial:
All Perry coverage at Law Dork can be found here, and my Twitter list of folks tweeting live from the trial can be found here.
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found
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