What is this "Standing" Business?

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal heard oral arguments in the Prop. 8 case yesterday.  If you heard or read any of the news reports, you likely heard about the issue of "standing."  In a case that raises big meaty constitutional, philosophical, and moral issues surrounding marriage--same-sex marriage in particular--you might be surprised that the key issue appears to be basically procedural.

So what is this whole "standing" thing, anyway?  Basically, "standing" means that a party to a law suit actually has an interest in the controversy; i.e. they actually suffered an injury because of another party's action.  It's not enough to simply not like something, or to simply be offended by something someone else does.  You have to actually be injured in some way.

Why does this matter?  At the top, it's about practicality.  Lawsuits consume a lot of time, energy, and money--none of which are limitless--so the legal system has to create some method of limiting the number of potential lawsuits.  If we could all sue anyone simply because we didn't like what they were doing, the courts would be even more backlogged than they already are.  The important cases would get lost in the mess; collective injustice being the result because the courts' ability to redress genuine wrongs would be essentially nonexistent.

That would be bad enough on its own, but there is a deeper issue at work as well.  Standing is also about liberty.  If everyone could sue without showing standing--proving they suffered a real injury--then no one could live freely.  Your personal liberty should not be curtailed unless the exercise of that liberty harms others.

Consider the standing issue in the Prop. 8 appeal.  Supporters of Prop. 8 brought suit to keep same-sex couples from marrying.  The court wants to know how same sex marriage actually harms anyone?  Clearly, if there is a fundamental right to marry that the people of California cannot deny same-sex couples, those same-sex couples are injured by Prop. 8's enforcement.  The same cannot be said of people who oppose same-sex marriage.  Sure, they may not approve but that is thin ice in terms of injury.  Essentially, the court is asking Prop. 8 defenders, "where's the beef?"

A Big Belly Rub to Start the Day

Saw this guy on my corner this morning, just standing in the sunlight rubbing his big belly.

Sell-Out Tuesday

The California Bar Exam is a Monster . . .

. . . and I killed it.

A Beer Snob Is As A Beer Snob Does

Economic Propaganda in Comics!

The good folks at Planet Money inform me that the Federal Reserve published a comic book about monetary policy.

Contrary to legend, the X-Men don't spend all their time battling Magneto.

There's also this 1945 "comic" (really just illustrated bullet points) about how war time economic policy can lead to facism, courtesy of General Motors.

Or maybe you join the party for their artificial elbow implants.

In the spirit of equal time, here's another "comic" about the "Money Myth."  It's long and, well, stupid, but worth checking out if you like your fools raw and unfiltered.

The Evil Banker Oliver Demands Repayment.

A Bike Mechanic's Best Friend

3 A.M. is for Brooding

Torture? What Torture?

Watching the Giants in the Mission

I Don't Really Feel Old Enough for This . . .

Taking the parents to Napa and Sonoma today.

The Handshake

Hipsters Anonymous

Somewhere in the Mission or Williamsburg . . .

Rich Iott: Idiot

Rich Iott is running for congress in Ohio's 9th District on the GOP ticket.  Iott was recently exposed as a happy member of the Wikings, a WWII reenactment group that spends long weekends dressing up as Nazi soldiers and playing with guns in the woods.  Iott is clearly an idiot.


Good to know that conservative family values are still intact -- that's right, Glenn Beck thinks it'd be fun to play Nazi with your son.

Folsom Street Fair: Pluralism Baby

Last weekend was San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair.  For the uninitiated, Folsom is a celebration of the leather arts.

My wife and I were on our way to the East Bay during the Fair and passed this Auntie buying fruit while some fair-goers waited for the walk signal.  Two guys in assless chaps and leather cod-pieces didn't faze her at all.  I love San Francisco.

Jury Duty Pt. 2: Criminal Court Brings Out the Characters

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Jury duty rolls on (though I think I may be done sooner than anticipated).  Like I said before, no talking about the case.  But the Hall of Justice has some serious characters in its halls.

I've seen this guy several times waiting on one of the benches outside the courtroom.  With hair like this, I can only guess he's a defense attorney.

This guy was shaving in the bathroom one morning.  His friend was telling him about how he'd gotten rid of things when the cops came.

Jury Duty Pt. 1

I am currently a proud member of a California Superior Court jury!  Jury selection actually took three days and, since I was the very first person called, I had the privilege of sitting through every single question asked of every single potential juror.

Portrait of the Artist Over Three Days of Jury Selection

Of course, since I can't discuss the case, I won't be able to post anything about the trial itself.  But I am in the criminal court building all day, so there's plenty of other material to come.

The Guard: Chapter 2

 Chapter One is Here; click to expand . . .

to be continued . . .

Motown Philly

This morning I was listening to some Boyz II Men.  First, I remembered couples skate at the roller rink, trying to make my hands stop sweating while wishing I could look as cool as the older guys who worked there and never laced up their skates.  Then I remembered that I used to try and convince my mom to buy me some of the clothes Boyz II Men and BBD wore in their videos.

I probably would have looked even worse.

Around the same time, I also had a very long conversation/debate with my barber about why he could not or would not give me a high-top fade.  Hector was a wise man. 

The Castro Safeway

Last weekend, I was standing outside the Castro Safeway.  I was wearing a tie for no particular reason.  This guy walks up to me, stares at me for twenty seconds and says: "I lika da tie!"

I thanked him but he just stood there.  "I lika da tie!" he said again.  Then: "But-a maybeh too formal for Satuhrday!  But I lika da tie!  You look good!"  I'm not exaggerating his accent.  He sounded like this.

Then he walked away.