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Calif. court upholds same-sex marriage ban

SACRAMENTO, May 26 (UPI) -- A majority of the California Supreme Court Tuesday upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, but said 18,000 gay marriages before Proposition 8 are valid.

Prop 8 was heavily contested, but the ban was approved by 52 percent of state voters in November, and the state high court said any change in the law would again have to come from the "ballot box," not the courts. The vote on the state high court to uphold Prop 8 was 6-1; the same court, in the absence of Prop 8, declared same-sex marriage legal last year.

In the opinion, the majority said it concludes "that Proposition 8 constitutes a permissible constitutional amendment (rather than an impermissible constitutional revision), does not violate the separation of powers doctrine and is not invalid under the 'inalienable rights' theory proffered by the attorney general. We further conclude that Proposition 8 does not apply retroactively and therefore that the marriages of same-sex couples performed prior to the effective date of Proposition 8 remain valid."

The decision that Prop 8 was not retroactive was unanimous.

In addition, the majority said that having "determined that none of the constitutional challenges to the adoption of Proposition 8 have merit, we observe that if there is to be a change to the state constitutional rule embodied in that measure, it must "find its expression at the ballot box."

Before November's vote, California and Massachusetts were the only two states to allow same-sex marriage at the time.

After Tuesday's ruling, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement asking opponents and proponents of same-sex marriage to respond "peacefully and lawfully."

"While I believe that one day either the people or courts will recognize gay marriage, as governor of California I will uphold the decision of the California Supreme Court," the statement said. "Regarding the 18,000 marriages that took place prior to Proposition 8's passage, the court made the right decision in keeping them intact. I also want to encourage all those responding to today's court decision to do so peacefully and lawfully."

Court thanked for Prop 8 decision

SACRAMENTO, May 26 (UPI) -- Proponents and opponents of California's Proposition 8 held their ground Tuesday after the state high court upheld the ban on same-sex marriages.

The California Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that Prop 8 is constitutional, but unanimously said 18,000 same-sex marriages, performed before the November vote on Prop 8, remain valid.

In a statement, Ron Prentice, California Family Council's executive director, said supporters "thank the court."

"Both the historic definition of marriage and the will of the people has been bolstered today in California," he said. "We thank the court for their sound legal decision. More than 100,000 people gave of their time and resources to reinforce the meaning and purpose of marriage, and now, the broad coalition of organizations and individuals known as ProtectMarriage.com moves ahead to strengthen the essential role of marriage in California's future."

Former U.S. Solicitor General Kenneth Starr, independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation, argued for Prop 8 before the court for ProtectMarriage.com, while state Attorney General Jerry Brown argued against it.

Prentice said celebrations honoring the decision are planned in several California cities, including San Diego and Fresno.

One of the churches hosting a celebration, Cornerstone Church in Fresno, was twice defaced with red and yellow paint last week, which Prentice said shows that opponents of "traditional marriage have been exposed for their intolerance of a person's rights of conscience and religious expression."

In contrast, Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, "Today, personal freedom took a big hit in California. ...

"This is deeply disappointing," he added, "especially in light of the recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling saying that it is unconstitutional to keep gay couples from marrying -- and the passage of laws opening marriage to everyone by the Vermont and Maine legislatures. Public support for marriage for same-sex couples is gaining ground, but California is being left behind."

Court restricts defendant-lawyer rule

WASHINGTON, May 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday to overturn a 33-year-old precedent absolutely restricting police questioning once a defendant has a lawyer.

The narrow ruling came along the court's ideological fault line.

In St. Tammany Parish, La., Jesse Jay Montejo was charged with first-degree murder in a burglary and the court appointed a lawyer. Later, police read him his Miranda rights, and he agreed to go along on a police search for the murder weapon. On the trip, Montejo wrote a letter to his victim's wife in which he seemed to admit guilt. When the group returned, Montejo finally met his lawyer.

The letter was admitted as evidence during trial, and Montejo was convicted and sentenced to death.

Eventually, the state Supreme Court rejected Montejo's argument that the letter should have been suppressed under the U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Michigan vs. Jackson, which forbids police to interrogate a criminal defendant once he has invoked his right to counsel at a judicial proceeding. The state court reasoned Montejo had stood mute while the court appointed counsel.

Tuesday, in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "Michigan vs. Jackson should be and now is overruled."

While not going as far as the state court, the opinion said Jackson and another U.S. Supreme Court precedent "are meant to prevent police from badgering defendants into changing their minds about the right to counsel once they have invoked it, but a defendant who never asked for counsel has not yet made up his mind in the first instance."

Justice John Paul Stevens, among the four dissenters and the author of the opinion in Michigan vs. Jackson, made the rare move of dissenting orally from the bench after Scalia announced the decision.

Roadside bomb kills 3 near Fallujah

BAGHDAD, May 26 (UPI) -- A U.S. soldier and two civilians were killed in Iraq when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, the U.S. Military said Tuesday.

The attack near Fallujah Monday afternoon also injured two Defense Department contractors, The New York Times reported. The vehicle was part of a convoy returning from an inspection of a wastewater treatment plant.

One of the dead was identified as Terrence Barnch, deputy director of Iraqi transition assistance for the U.S. State Department. The identities of the soldier and a Defense Department contractor were not released Tuesday because relatives had not been notified.

Some of the nastiest fighting of the war occurred in Fallujah after insurgents killed four Blackwater Worldwide contractors in 2004. The city and the area around it has become much quieter because of cooperation between U.S. forces and the Sunni Awakening Councils.

Monday's attack occurred about 3 miles from the bridge in Fallujah where the bodies of the Blackwater contractors were hung in 2004.

U.S. plane leaves Russia over H1N1 scare

ANADYR, Russia, May 26 (UPI) -- A U.S. plane flew home from Russia Tuesday after health officials ordered a medical exam of the pilot thought to have H1N1 flu, officials said.

The Bombardier Challenger business jet, carrying five passengers and two crew members to Russia's Far East region, took off after all on board were offered medical exams, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"One of the two crew members was diagnosed with a relatively high temperature during a sanitary check at the Anadyr airport," a regional official said. "The pilot, who is suspected to have contracted swine flu, was offered a medical examination ... ."

The plane left "after four and a half hours at Anadyr airport. None of them stepped out of the plane," the official told RIA Novosti.

Judge: Senate panel should get Burris tape

CHICAGO, May 26 (UPI) -- A U.S. Senate panel should have a taped conversation between Sen. Roland Burris and the brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a judge said Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Holdermann's ruling involved a surreptitiously recorded conversation between Burris, D-Ill., and Robert Blagojevich on Nov. 13, 2008, The New York Times reported.

Lawyers for both men said they have no objection to turning over the tape to the ethics committee, the Chicago Tribune said. Rob Blagojevich's conversations were recorded surreptitiously during a federal investigation of his brother.

The ethics committee is investigating the circumstances under which the impeached governor named Burris to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.

Michael Ettinger, representing Rob Blagojevich, said that he and his client would like the public to hear the tape.

"We think it is what it is," said Timothy Wright, Burris's lawyer. "The truth is coming out. We expect it to vindicate the senator."

Rod Blagojevich was ousted from office by the state legislature in January and is under indictment on federal corruption charges.