If Perry Is Televised, and Then the Supreme Court Overturns Prop 8, Maggie Gallagher Won’t Be Able to Sleep at Night

SOUNDBITES — “The first purpose of a trial is to do justice to the litigants. As much as I would personally love to be able to see the Proposition 8 trial unfold in real time, I cannot contemplate the reasons why a court should subordinate justice to some other interest, whether it is public entertainment or public education. The purpose of a trial is not to educate the public. It is to do justice to the parties the court has permitted in the court room. Where there is a conflict, or a potential conflict, courts must adhere to their primary purpose and eschew any innovations that threaten that purpose. If television is ever to be permitted, it should only be when all parties to the litigation agree. Anything else is a travesty of justice, a subordination of the purpose of a court system to some other goal. Here’s the bottom line: If the Supreme Court should overturn Proposition 8 and find a constitutional right to gay marriage I will never know whether or not that would be a result of the haste to televise the trial.” —NOM chief Maggie Gallagher, in a letter sent yesterday to Judge Phyllis Hamilton (the chair of the Ninth Circuit’s Rules Committee) arguing against broadcasting any part of Perry (via)

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