Civil and women’s rights activists requesting an emergency stay on the enforcement of Proposition 209 were refused Thursday, when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request without comment.
The Court has yet to decide whether it will hear an appeal of Proposition 209’s constitutionality, and opponents of the law are confident that the decision, expected in October, will be in their favor. Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, states “This case involves critical questions regarding the ability of cities and states to address historic discrimination and deserves a review by our nation’s highest court.” Ed Chen, staff attorney for the ACLU of Northern California, hopes that local cities will not jump to enforce Proposition 209, since a Supreme Court reversal of may be forthcoming and the changes would cause “a great deal of disruption to their programs.”
