Both sides in the Prop 8 trial (Perry v. Schwarzenegger) have been called to court on Wednesday to settle a dispute that is holding up a decision in the landmark case. On Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker gave Equality California and the ACLU 48 hours to turn over internal documents and emails to defendants—the group that supports the anti-gay law. Failure to comply with the judge’s order will result in a $2,000 per citation, per day fine. Though neither Equality California nor the ACLU are a party in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, Judge Walker has held that they are still required submit the documents to Prop 8 supporters. The ACLU and Equality California want to keep their internal communications out of the hands of anti-gay groups and have argued that the privacy of the communications is protected under the First Amendment. Judge Walker disagrees with their argument. Furthermore, the groups have stated that reproducing the hundreds of thousands of documents in question would cost upwards of $20,000. If the ACLU and Equality California are found in contempt, which is appearing more and more likely, they will have the opportunity to appeal the contempt order.
