The San Fernando Valley Bar Association reaffirmed a position supporting the independence of the judiciary in the wake of the California Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold the ban on same-sex marriage as mandated by the passage of Proposition 8 last year. Previously, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association Board of Trustees, the organization’s 20-member governing body, unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the independence of the judiciary in anticipation of the Court’s decision on Proposition 8. Language in SFVBA’s March 10 resolution urged supporters and opponents of Proposition 8 to exercise restraint in regard to their frustration about the court’s decision, whatever it turned out to be. The resolution noted that threats of political and other repercussions from the left or the right of the political spectrum, depending on the decision in the controversial case, had been levied against the justices. However, with its formal pre-election opposition to Proposition 8 as a backdrop, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association also reaffirmed its support for equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation, in its Proposition 8 resolution. “The San Fernando Valley Bar Association has a long history of supporting the independence of the judiciary and the Board wanted to communicate that important point before the decision was handed down,” said Association President Tamila Jensen. “There has been a lot of angry discourse about Proposition 8, much of it directed toward our judiciary and especially the California Supreme Court,” Jensen said. “There is a difference between disagreeing with judges’ decisions and impugning their character and threatening political and other repercussions.” Thom Senzee
