Tenth Circuit of Appeals Court refuses to issue stay on marriage equality in Utah

On Sunday, the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit denied Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert's request seeking an Emergency Motion for Temporary Stay following a federal judge’s ruling that struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled Friday in a lawsuit brought by two gay men that Utah state law violates their right to equal protection and due process under the U.S. Constitution.

According to the documents, the filing for an Emergency Motion for Temporary Stay did not address nor satisfy the factors that must be established to be entitled to a stay pending an appeal. The denial is without prejudice if the defendants-appellants file a motion for stay pending appeal that complies with regulations.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby has scheduled a hearing Monday at 9 a.m. on the state’s request to halt same-sex marriages, and pro same-sex marriage groups in Utah encouraged people to take advantage of the limited window in which marriage licenses were guaranteed to be granted in several counties.

In a post on their Facebook page, Equality Utah said, “Worst case scenario we will only have 1 hour in which marriages can be performed by the respective county clerks.”

In the post titled, “Everything you need to know about getting married tomorrow morning” Equality Utah said they had confirmed that Salt Lake and Weber county clerks would be open and ready to marry people “exactly at 8am”. The post advised couples to download and fill out their applications online ahead of time to expedite the process.

Many legal experts predict Judge Shelby will not issue a stay on his ruling.

(source)