Thus says the 9th Circuit panel of three judges who overturned federal district court Judge James Ware’s order to release the Prop 8 trial videotape.

Between Judge Vaughn Walker, the original trial judge that presided over the Prop 8 (the California marriage amendment) trial in 2010, and Judge James Ware, who took over the case after Walker’s retirement in early 2011, I count at least six reversals from a higher court: 4 for Walker and two for Ware, including today’s order from the 9th Circuit.

(Dig Deeper – click here)

According to a press release in MarketWatch.com, Utah Rep. Stephen Sandstrom:

“… introduced H.B. 108, Internet Gambling, to prevent Internet gaming including gambling that could be conducted on handheld devices, which are not always necessarily connected to the Internet. This legislation would also block the possibility of Indian casinos coming to Utah. Through a specific opt-out provision, H.B. 108 is a direct response by the state of Utah to H.R. 1174, currently under review by the U.S. Congress that would legalize online gambling in the states unless individual states proactively opt out.

“We want to keep Utah free from the negative impacts of legalized gambling,” said Sandstrom. “Without courageous leadership to block Internet gaming, Utah could see Indian casinos popping up statewide in just a few years.”

Read the full-text article here …

If the recent legal opinion of the U.S. Department of Justice remains intact, states like Utah will be forced to make a decision to either allow online gambling in homes and on portable handheld devices that are connected to the Internet, or to create legislation that prohibits Internet gambling.

Representative Sandstrom of Utah is making a very wise and proactive choice by introducing HB 108 to prohibit Internet gambling and protect families in the state of Utah. There are currently eight states with laws expressly prohibiting online gambling. Expect more join that number soon.

Dig Deeper …

• The Department of Justice’s Peculiar Timing – Analysis, Gambling
• Internet Gambling: Counting Chickens Before They Hatch? – Blogs …
• Another Victory: Virginia Outlawing Internet Gambling – Blogs …

The 9th Circuit announced on its website today that a decision is due tomorrow (Feb 2) on the question of the public disclosure of the Prop 8 (the California marriage amendment) trial videotape.

The videotape is one of four issues in the Prop 8 case that have found their way to the 9th Circuit and the first to be decided.

This issue is so thorny that it has already been to the U.S. Supreme Court once. It should be interesting to see if the 9th Circuit agrees or disagrees with federal district court Judge James Ware’s (who replaced the original trial judge, Vaughn Walker) decision ordering disclosure of the tapes. Media reports from the oral argument before the 9th Circuit about this issue indicated that the trio of appellate judges there were not comfortable with disclosure.

There is still no peep on when we might get a decision from the 9th Circuit on the all-important constitutional issues concerning the marriage amendment. As with this decision due tomorrow, we will likely get only one day’s notice ahead of that posting.