A federal appellate panel ruled Thursday that a San Francisco judge abused his discretion by ordering the release of a video recording of the trial over Proposition 8, saying that he ignored a promise upon which supporters of the ban on gay marriage relied.
“The trial judge on several occasions unequivocally promised that the recording of the trial would be used only in chambers and not publicly broadcast,” wrote Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “The integrity of our judicial system depends in no small part on the ability of litigants and members of the public to rely on a judge’s word.”
