Prop. 8 sponsors are legally entitled to defend measure, court rules

The California Supreme Court decided Thursday that the sponsors of Proposition 8 and other ballot measures are entitled to defend them in court when the state refuses to do so, a ruling likely to spur federal courts to decide the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans.

The state high court’s decision, a defeat for gay rights groups,  sets the stage for a federal ruling -- which could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court -- that would affect marriage bans outside California.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering an appeal of a trial judge’s ruling that overturned Proposition 8, had asked the California court to clarify whether state law gives initiative sponsors  standing,  or legal authority, to defend their measures.

FULL COVERAGE: Prop. 8

State officials are entitled to champion ballot measures in court, but the governor and the attorney general have refused to defend  Proposition 8.

Although the 9th Circuit is not bound by Thursday’s ruling, the decision makes it less likely that the appeals court would decide Proposition 8’s future on narrow, standing grounds.

The 9th Circuit panel considering the gay-marriage dispute indicated in a hearing last December that it was leaning toward overturning  Proposition 8 if the standing question could be resolved.  Former  U.S. Chief District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who has since retired,  overturned the marriage ban after a two-week trial that focused on the nature of sexual orientation and the history of marriage.

Gay rights groups argued that ProtectMarriage did not have standing to appeal Walker’s ruling. But they also contended they could win the case in federal courts on constitutional grounds.

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-- Maura Dolan

Photo: A Proposition 8 opponent stands outside the Philip Burton Federal Building before a ruling in the same-sex marriage ban in San Francisco last year. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times