United States Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks The Televising Of Proposition 8 Trial

Monday morning, the United States Supreme Court issued a temporary stay that effectively prevents Chief United State District Judge Vaughn Walker from televising the proceedings from the federal trial challenging the constitutional validity of Proposition 8. Walker wanted to have the trial televised – albeit time-delayed, having been recorded then uploaded to YouTube at the end of each day’s recess – but defendants repeatedly argued that the exposure would be harmful to those testifying as witnesses for the anti-gay marriage amendment, passed in November, 2008. The stay expires Wednesday, and real time streaming of the historic trial continues in the federal court houses of five American cities – San Francisco, Pasadena, Seattle, Brooklyn, and Portland, Oregon.