Right on the heels of the New York Times' article on how Bush's Solicitor General, Ted Olson, came to represent the plaintiffs in the constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, the judge in the case made some rulings and set the date for the start of the trial.
The order by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California turned down requests to intervene in the suit by groups on both sides of the issue (he did let the City of San Francisco join the suit, though). The timing of that ruling is slightly ironic when considered next to the Times article (which detailed how Olson became involved in a case that most conservatives strongly oppose) since the pro-gay-marriage groups came late to the party after expressing skepticism about Olson's motives and the strategic wisdom of bringing the suit now.
After they decided to get on board, however, the plaintiffs fought their push to join the case.
The reasons given for their opposition to the intervention were mostly
practical, but I suspect there were some personal motivations lurking
behind the decision as well.
So it's been a good week for
Olson. First the article comes out portraying him as a generally
decent person who sticks to his principles and adheres to a basic idea
of fairness, then he gets a decision from the judge that sticks it to
the people who didn't believe that to be the case.
He's got no
time to bask in the warm glow from his good fortunes, however; the
first discovery deadline is November 30, and the trial's set to begin
on January 11, 2010.
Olson-Boies Prop 8 Lawsuit Trial Schedule