Case No.

12-17668


UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT


BEVERLY SEVCIK, et al.

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.

BRIAN SANDOVAL, et al.,

Defendants-Appellees,

and

COALITION FOR THE PROTECTION OF MARRIAGE,

Intervenor-Defendant-Appellee.


On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada
Case No. 2:12-CV-00578-RCJ-PAL
The Honorable Robert C. Jones, District Judge.


PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS MOTION TO SCHEDULE ORAL
ARGUMENT IN APPEAL PREVIOUSLY ORDERED TO BE EXPEDITED


Jon W. Davidson Carla Christofferson Kelly H. Dove
Peter C. Renn Dawn Sestito Marek P. Bute
LAMBDA LEGAL Dimitri Portnoi SNELL & WILMER LLP
DEFENSE AND Melanie Cristol 3883 Howard Hughes
EDUCATION FUND, INC. Rahi Azizi Parkway, Ste. 1100
3325 Wilshire Blvd., OMELVENY & Las Vegas, NV 89169
Ste. 1300 MYERS LLP Tel.: (702) 784-5200
Los Angeles, CA 90010 400 S. Hope St.
Tel.: (213) 382-7600 Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel.: (213) 430-6000

[Additional Counsel Listed on Inside Cover]

Attorneys for Plaintiffs-Appellants
Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 1 of 7

Tara L. Borelli
LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC.
730 Peachtree Street NE, Ste. 1070
Atlanta, GA 30308-1210
Tel.: (404) 897-1880

Attorneys for Plaintiffs-Appellants
Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 2 of 7
1

Plaintiffs-Appellants Beverly Sevcik and Mary Baranovich, Antioco Carrillo
and Theodore Small, Karen Goody and Karen Vibe, Fletcher Whitwell and Greg
Flamer, Mikyla Miller and Katrina Miller, Adele Terranova and Tara Newberry,
Caren Cafferata-Jenkins and Farrell Cafferata-Jenkins, and Megan Lanz and Sara
Geiger respectfully move the Court to schedule oral argument in this appeal. On
February 12, 2014 this appeal was ordered to be expedited for argument. More
than three months after that order, argument remains unscheduled. To the extent
the Clerk of the Court is unable to grant the relief requested, Plaintiffs-Appellants
respectfully request that this motion be referred to the motions panel.
This appeal involves an issue of profound significance: whether Nevada
officials may deprive same-sex couples of due process and equal protection by
denying them the freedom to marry. The appeal was docketed on December 4,
2012 and, following a stay in light of two cases then pending before the U.S.
Supreme Court, fully briefed by February 27, 2014. ECF Nos. 1, 11, 13, 179.
Plaintiffs-Appellants filed an unopposed motion seeking to expedite argument on
February 10, 2014. ECF No. 172. The Court granted that request two days later
on February 12, 2014, in an order that provided that, This case will be calendared
as soon as possible. ECF No. 174.
An order was issued scheduling argument on April 9, 2014, ECF No. 187,
but was subsequently vacated. No further order has issued regarding argument.
Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 3 of 7
2

More than one and a half years have passed since the docketing of this
appeal, and more than three months have already passed since argument was
ordered to be expedited and calendared as soon as possible. As the Court
recognized in previously granting Plaintiffs-Appellants request for expedition, the
daily irreparable harm inflicted on same-sex couples and their children by
Nevadas marriage ban warrants the swiftest possible review. In fact, the Court
recognized the urgency of these issues by expediting argument in another appeal
involving marriage for same-sex couples in Idaho which was docketed less than
two weeks ago. Latta v. Otter (9th Cir. No. 14-35420; docketed on May 14, 2014).
Argument has been ordered to be set in Latta for the week of September 8, 2014.
(9th Cir. No. 14-35420, ECF No. 11.) Even though argument was ordered to be
scheduled on an expedited basis in this appeal months before Latta was even
docketed, Latta has been set for argument and this appeal has not.
Because this appeal represents the first of all currently pending appeals
involving marriage equality for same-sex couples to be fully briefed, and has been
ready for expedited argument for months, Plaintiffs-Appellants respectfully request
that the Court order that argument be set at the earliest possible date, and in no
event later than the Latta argument during the week of September 8, 2014.
1
The

1
To the extent the Court might be holding this appeal for argument with Jackson v.
Fuddy (9th Cir. Nos. 12-16995 and 12-16698), a case initially filed by same-sex
couples in Hawaii seeking marriage, which the legislature subsequently granted
Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 4 of 7
3

delay in hearing this appeal is particularly intolerable given that all government
officials named as defendants now have abandoned any defense of Nevadas
marriage ban, ECF Nos. 142, 171, even as they continue to impose profound harms
on same-sex couples and their children by enforcing the ban.
///
///
///
///
///
///
///
///
///
///
///
///

no good cause exists to do so, particularly where Latta is not subject to the same
delay. The Clerks February 12, 2014 order expediting argument in the instant
appeal expressly specified that this appeal and Jackson would not be considered
together. ECF No. 174. Regardless, Jacksons briefing schedule should not
interfere with scheduling argument in Sevcik during the week of September 8, 2014
or earlier. Opening briefs were filed in Jackson on April 25, 2014, and answering
briefs are due on May 27 (Jackson, No. 12-16995, ECF No. 125).
Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 5 of 7
4

Intervenor-Defendant-Appellee Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, the
only litigant defending Nevadas marriages challenged marriage laws, supports
this motion to the extent it seeks an oral argument date no later than the week of
September 8, the week set for argument in Latta.
DATE: May 22, 2014 Respectfully submitted,
Jon W. Davidson
Tara L. Borelli
Peter C. Renn
LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND
EDUCATION FUND, INC.

Carla Christofferson
Dawn Sestito
Dimitri Portnoi
Melanie Cristol
Rahi Azizi
OMELVENY & MYERS LLP

Kelly H. Dove
Marek P. Bute
SNELL & WILMER LLP


By: s/ Dimitri Portnoi
Dimitri Portnoi
Attorneys for Plaintiffs-Appellants

Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 6 of 7
5

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the
Court for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by using the
appellate CM/ECF system on May 22, 2014.
I certify that all participants in the case are registered CM/ECF users and
that service will be accomplished by the appellate CM/ECF system.

s/ Dimitri Portnoi .

Case: 12-17668 05/22/2014 ID: 9106671 DktEntry: 210 Page: 7 of 7