Two witnesses testified on Tuesday at the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial over the constitutionality of Proposition 8.  Two more are to testify today, and a spokesman for the American Foundation for Equal Rights confirms that today will not, as attorneys for the Plaintiffs suggested this past week, be the final day for the Plaintiffs’ case.

Jerry Sanders, the current Republican Mayor and former Police Chief of the City of San Diego who is the father of a lesbian daughter, testified.  San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera conducted the direct examination.

From Lisa Keen:

Sanders, the first plaintiffs’ witness on the stand today, told with more detail a story that has become very familiar to the LGBT community. In testimony that was often choked with tears, Sanders described how he came to reverse his own opposition to same-sex marriage after his daughter came out to him and he discussed his plans to veto the city’s participation in a brief in support of same-sex marriage in 2008.

Watch Sanders’ earlier support:

Lee Badgett speaks at a briefing organized by the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, "Not a Rosy Picture: Poverty Among Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Americans," which took place on March 20, 2009. (Iamage from Web site of Rep. Tammy Baldwin.)

Also testifying was M.V. Lee Badgett, Ph.D., a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  She was discussing the economic harm to LGBT couples resulting from Proposition 8 and other anti-LGBT discrimination.  Badgett has previously spoken about similar issues to those discussed at trial when she participated in a briefing coordinated by the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus in 2009.  (More information about that event — including handouts (pdf) and audio (wma) — can be found here.)

Badgett’s testimony went on for the remainder of the day, with direct examination being conducted by David Boies and the cross-examination being conducted by Charles Cooper.  As Keen described the testimony, Boies scored a hit today.  She wrote:

Boies was questioning a pro-gay marriage expert—economist Lee Badgett—when he asked her to comment on a statement by defendant expert Douglas W. Allen concerning the decline in straight couples marrying in The Netherlands. Charles Cooper, the defense’s lead attorney, objected, noting that the defense had withdrawn Allen as a witness.

But federal Judge Vaughn Walker, who will decide the case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, allowed the testimony.

What the defense expert had said—during his deposition in September—was that any trend downward in the number of straight couples marrying in The Netherlands since same-sex marriage became available there in 2001 could be attributed to a larger “secular trend” witnessed by most western countries. In fact, he said, there was “no doubt” about that.

That statement helps undermine the defendants’ claim that allowing same-sex couples to marry hurts the institution of marriage.

Today, AFER reports that the following people are to testify:

• Ryan Kendall, a gay man who will testify about the “conversation therapy” he underwent in his youth and how he has been affected by discrimination.
• Gary M. Segura, Ph.D,Professor of American Politics in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. He will testify about the relative political power of gays and lesbians as a class of citizens, and their level of political vulnerability.

[UPDATE: As I was covering the Lambda Legal lawsuit filed today on behalf of Karen Golinski, I missed what was a pretty exciting trial day from what it appears.  The coordination between the Yes on 8 campaign and several religious entities was laid bare, as was the pain endured by some of those involved in "conversion therapy."  From Lisa Keen:

Under repeated and vehement objections by the defense attorney Andrew Pugno—objections overruled by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker— Segura testified about the thousands of volunteers that were deployed by the Mormon and Catholic churches in California to campaign for passage of the anti-gay initiative. He said the documents showed that there was “very early involvement of organized religious communities, and really a national political campaign” to pass Proposition 8 in California.

Pugno and other defense attorneys continued to object to various documents—mostly emails—from being introduced into evidence, making various claims, including that some must be shielded to protect the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion for various participants in the Proposition 8 campaign.

But Judge Walker was unconvinced.

The trial will continue on Thursday and Friday.]

Law Dork coverage of the trial:

• Supreme Court – Broadcast Stay
• Day One
• Day Two
• Day Three
• Supreme Court – Broadcast Ruling
• Day Four
• Day Five
• Week Two

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.  Liveblogging of the trial can be found at the Courage Campaign’s Prop 8 Trial Tracker and at FireDogLake’s Prop 8 Trial Hub.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ted Olson (left) and David Boies adress reporters, as two of the lawsuit's plaintiffs look on.

It’s the weekend before trial, and everything is heating up.

As The New Yorker unveils its lengthy piece on the Proposition 8 federal challenge, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, and the Prop 8 proponents seek to keep the public eye off the court proceedings by appealing Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling on cameras all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, AFER, announced the formation of its advisory board this evening.

AFER, formed entirely for the purpose of bringing the Perry challenge has gained a reputation — mainly through the musings of its board president, Chad Griffin — as being as out-front and aggressive a group as sensibly possible.  In The New Yorker piece, Griffin says, “Our movement has been satisfied with small steps, but we can no longer be afraid of big steps.”

But then, on the eve of litigation being run by lawyers outside the LGBT equality movement and with a board of directors with little connection to that movement before 2008, the group announced its advisory board, which, it announced in a news release, “comprises a diverse and prominent roster of civil rights leaders.”

The advisory board members are a mostly impressive list that includes some of the big supporters of the grassroots-pushed National Equality March, Cleve Jones and David Mixner, and some of the key D.C. establishment civil rights supporters, Julian Bond and Hilary Rosen.

Jones, in addition to having worked with Harvey Milk, founded the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt effort.  Mixner is a known California entity,  but became a major Clinton fund-raiser in the ’90s and has become a consistent voice for change in Washington since.  Bond is the longtime face — and voice — of the NAACP and a strong voice for LGBT equality within and outside of the group.  Rosen has been a board member and a leading force of the Human Rights Campaign for nearly two decades, having even served as the interim director for a short while in 2004.

Among the other advisory board members are Lt. Dan Choi, who has become the face of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal effort over the past year; Stuart Milk, the openly gay nephew of Harvey Milk; Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard; and Dolores Huerta, a member of the board of directors of Equality California and a longtime, much-honored activist for the rights of farm workers who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Cesar Chavez.

Plus, Margaret Hoover, who worked on the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004, worked as the deputy press secretary for Mario Diaz-Balart and is quoted in the AFER release as using the Cheney “freedom means freedom for everyone” line.  Huh?  That’s the best Republican Ted Olson could bring on board?  No one with, um, any civil rights record?

Hoover aside, it’s good to see AFER bringing together this group right now, on the eve of trial.  This group shows more solidarity, in my view, from all areas of the LGBT equality movement than I’ve seen in most any other organization.  It it, I think, a good sign that both grassroots and establishment leadership are coming together to show their full and unambiguous support for the Perry effort.

The full release is below the jump.

* * * * *

LOS ANGELES – The American Foundation for Equal Rights today announced its advisory board, which comprises a diverse and prominent roster of civil rights leaders:

•    Julian Bond
•    Lt. Dan Choi
•    Margaret Hoover
•    Dolores Huerta
•    Cleve Jones
•    Stuart Milk
•    David Mixner
•    Hillary Rosen
•    Judy Shepard

“The diversity and prominence of this advisory board underscores that Proposition 8 is an affront to every American who believes in the equal protection under the law guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,” said Board President Chad Griffin. “These civil rights leaders have profoundly affected the lives of millions of Americans, and we are proud to be working with them to help millions more.”

The American Foundation for Equal Rights launched its groundbreaking federal court challenge to Prop. 8 in May, and brought together attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies to argue the case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Olson and Boies notably represented George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore respectively in the 2000 Supreme Court case that decided the presidency.

Advisory Board Background

•    Julian Bond is Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. He co-founded and was the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center and was a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He served more than 20 years in the Georgia legislature after a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court ruling held that the Georgia House of Representatives unconstitutionally denied him the seat he had won.

“The humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others,” Bond said. “This is not a special interest case, but one that should be of great importance to everyone who believes in the principles of equality on which this nation was founded.”

•    Lt. Dan Choi is an Army Officer and Iraq War combat veteran who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with degrees in Arabic and environmental engineering. Choi is a leading advocate against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

“Soldiers, elected officials and civil servants alike swear an oath to uphold the Constitution.      That oath should guide our leaders to reject discrimination of all kinds,” Choi said. “It is absolutely immoral that gay and lesbian soldiers can protect our country in wars overseas but return to America as second class citizens with inferior protections and recognition of their relationships and families.”

•    Margaret Hoover is a commentator on issues ranging from American politics to pop-culture.  She is a Fox News Contributor, has guest co-hosted The View on ABC, and appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, CNN’s Larry King Live, CBS’s The Early Show and PBS. Ms. Hoover served in George W. Bush’s White House, is a veteran of two Republican Presidential efforts and worked on Capitol Hill.  She is an advocate for reforming the Republican Party through renewed emphasis on the conservative principles of individual freedom, fiscal responsibility and strong national security.

“The right to marry is an individual freedom that should not be a left v. right, Democrat v. Republican issue,” Hoover said.  “Freedom means freedom for everyone.”

•    Dolores Huerta, President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Cesar Chavez, and is a recipient of US Presidential Human Rights Award. She has led national efforts to stop the exploitation of farm workers and extend government protections and equal rights. She is a former Regent of the University of California.

“People from all over the world come to America because of its promise of freedom and equal rights,” Huerta said. “This case will move our nation closer to making that ideal more of a reality.”

•    Cleve Jones founded the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, which today honors more than 85,000 Americans, with affiliates of the Project active in more than 50 countries around the world. He was an aide to San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and a consultant to two California Assembly speakers.

“The consequences of discrimination are profound,” Jones said. “This trial provides an  unprecedented forum to reveal the true harm of measures like Proposition 8 without the spin and misdirection that dominate political campaigns.”

•    David Mixner’s career spans the McGovern for president campaign to those of Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. After serving as campaign manager to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, he led the successful fight against California’s Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Amendment, which would have banned gays and lesbians from being teachers.

“Americans should not have to win equal rights in a political contest,” Mixner said. “The U.S.     Constitution guarantees every American fundamental rights, and when those rights are violated,     our courts exist to protect us.”

•    Stuart Milk, the openly gay nephew of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, today continues to spread his uncle’s message of hope for an America that provides equality to all.  He has been a vocal advocate for LGBT equality around the world and for civil rights in the U.S., and recently accepted from President Obama the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on behalf of Harvey Milk.

“The nation has come a long way in the three decades since my uncle Harvey Milk passionately worked to bring forth the hope and dream of equal rights right here in San Francisco, however the painful and diminishing message of inequality still remains.  We must work on several fronts and with multiple strategies in order to achieve the dream of equality that is unqualified for every American” Milk said.

•    Hillary Rosen is a Huffington Post editor-at-large and a CNN political contributor. A former Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), she also is currently Managing Partner of the Brunswick Group in Washington. Rosen serves on the boards of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the Creative Coalition and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. She has served two U.S. Senators and has lobbied and advocated for civil rights for 25 years.

“As exemplified by our legal team, this case transcends politics.” Rosen said. “It doesn’t advance a Democratic agenda or affect a Republican one. Equal rights form the core of our nation’s character and is something that all American families need and deserve.”

•    Judy and Dennis Shepard founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation in memory of their 21-year old son, Matthew, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998.  The Foundation seeks to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion & Acceptance” through its varied educational, outreach and advocacy programs and by continuing to tell Matthew’s story.

“The AFER court case to overturn Prop. 8 will help move us toward ending dangerous discrimination that is rooted in ignorance and hatred,”  Shepard said.

Extreme Silence at Prop 8 Hearing; Boies Wears Hush Puppies?

By Michael Petrelis

AFER board president Chad Griffin (left) and lawyers Ted Olson (center) and David Boies.

Here are some of my impressions from the hearing today before Judge Vaughn Walker in the matter of the lawsuit challenging Prop 8 being brought by Ted Olson and David Boies, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, and the news conferences afterward.

* * * * *

As I tried to get through the security checkpoint at the Golden Gate Avenue entrance to the federal building, my camera was confiscated by the guards for security reasons.  I protested this, arguing that TV cameras were allowed in for the press conference following the hearing, and I should be granted the same privilege.

The woman behind me interrupted my spat with security, while grabbing her bag from the conveyor belt.  She said: “I read your blog everyday.  You’re a unique thinker with strong views, not that I always agree with them.  I’m Calla Devlin from the National Center for Lesbian Rights.  I’ll see you upstairs in court.”

What an introduction.  She gave me her card, then the guard gave me a ticket to reclaim my camera later on.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes before the hearing is set to start at 10 a.m., and there are seats aplenty in the courtroom — unlike the hearing on July 2.  I see the friendly faces of John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, a gay couple long involved in this battle, often in the media eye, and grab a seat in the row ahead of them.

In the front right row are the two gay and lesbian couples who are the plaintiffs: Kristin Perry, Sandra Stier, Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo.  Seated to their right is Chad Griffin, head of the American Foundation for Equal Rights board, and he’s being cordial with Jenny Pizer of Lambda Legal, who is shaking hands and greeting the plaintiffs.

* * * * *

Randy Thomasson, head of the anti-gay Campaign for California Families, is in the next to last row, with a lost look on his face.  In the row behind me, to my left, is Frank Schubert, campaign manager for ProtectMarriage.org and the Yes on 8 forces last year.  He exhibits the intensity of a coach waiting for his team to win the game.

* * * * *

Five minutes before Judge Walker enters, the day’s court reporter instructs all attorneys to speak directly into the mic at the lectern, then goes around both sides’ tables, writing down everyone’s name.  This small bit of court action brings a hush to the spectators in the courtroom.

The proceeding soon starts, and like the last hearing, Judge Walker is cheerful, but serious about the business at hand, and wonderfully direct.

As the hearing goes on, I feel and hear an extreme silence everywhere, except at the bench or the lawyers’ mic. No one in the audience is whispering or making any discernible noises, as we all hang on to every word from the lawyers and judge.

* * * * *

We’ve stepped back into the stone age of communication.  Anyone who is taking notes, maybe half of all in attendance, is doing so on dead tree and using pens.  No clicking of keyboards or whirring of tape recorders.  All electronic devices are turned off.

Media trivia: Lisa Leff of the Associated Press is left-handed, and she used a legal note pad for her reporter’s notes today.

* * * * *

Olson and Boies speaking at the news conference after the hearing.

Judge Walker asks the ACLU attorney, James Esseks, who is arguing for the gay groups that want to be parties to the lawsuit, if part of what they’re after is to make sure “the factual record would be richer.”  The lawyer says yes, and a murmur from the left side of the audience is heard.

Disapproving looks are shot at the people murmuring — and they immediately go quiet.

The lawyer for the Campaign for California Families talks so fast the court reporter twice asks her to slow down.  It was hard for me to hear all of her words.

When Ted Olson rebuts arguments made by the gay groups trying to join the case, his delivery was even, his voice easily picked up by my ears.

* * * * *

The reporter next to me is hiding his iPhone in his left hand, under his paper pad.  He frequently takes it out, texts only with his left hand, then hides the device.

Right after Judge Walker rules against the pro-gay and anti-gay groups looking to intervene, the reporter rapidly fires off a text message.  So does Schubert, who makes no effort whatsoever to conceal his action.  The guard doesn’t notice.

Across the aisle, Thomasson is upset with the rulings and leaves as soon as the court addresses the case management issues.

* * * * *

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera and one of his top lawyers, Therese Stweart.

Every time I glance at the male plaintiff couple, seated on the aisle, one partner has his arm resting on the back of the wooden pew.  At times, his left hand embraces his partner’s upper arm.  The body language of both says, “We’re not afraid to show affection.  We are partners.”

* * * * *

There are three press conferences after the hearing in the media center of the federal building.  First up are Dennis Herrera, San Francisco City Attorney, and his top lawyer Terry Stewart.

Olson, left, and Boies. And their shoes.

Only Herrera speaks to the press, and is pleased the city will be allowed to join the suit and show the city’s unique “governmental interest” to the court regarding the outcome’s impact on local agencies.

Next come Griffin, Olson and Boies, and the lawyers answer a few questions.  I notice that Boies is not wearing proper business attire.

He’s wearing what appear to be velvet slip-on walking shoes from Hush Puppies, not the standard issue black leather lawyer shoes Olson has on.  I don’t know why I found this sartorial observation of interest, but upon reflection, I think it was because this small detail humanized this superlawyer to me.

* * * * *

Cooper

Finally, Charles Cooper, the lawyer for the Yes on Prop 8 team, along with two associates whose names I didn’t catch, took questions.  As Cooper explained the rationale for what he thinks is a winning legal strategy, the lightweight Yes on 8 sign, which hadn’t been securely taped to the lectern, came loose and fell to the floor.  Some laughs broke out, and I cracked wise, from the front row.

Cooper, without his sign.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve got a solid foundation there,” I said to Cooper, who chuckled at his bare lectern and got back to serious business.

Throughout the three pressers, a Daniel Sullivan, a retired attorney and consultant to several local media outlets, badgered the lawyers.  He impressed me with his forceful questioning and deep knowledge of U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

I asked him afterward why he was so aggressive.  He replied: “To make them better lawyers prepared to appear before judges other than Walker.”

May the legal barriers that stop gay people from marrying, fall as easily and unequivocally as Cooper’s flimsy sign.

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