Listen to this articleIn another poorly written motion, the Utah Attorney General’s office has asked for a 30-day extension of the filing deadline for their appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court in the case of Evans v. Herbert.
The case, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, seeks to force Utah to recognize the marriages that were legally conducted between Judge Robert Shelby’s ruling of December 20, 2013 and the United States Supreme Court’s stay on that decision, ordered on January 6, 2014. An estimated 1,300 same-sex couples were legally married during that time frame.
The motion argues that the Utah Federal Solicitor and Chief of Staff, Parker Douglas, is just too busy to complete the motion prior to the deadline because he’s “travelling” and the case is complex. The motion further claims that the Kitchen v. Herbert case consumed “more of counsels’ time than expected.”
John Mejia of the ACLU of Utah indicated that they were contacted by the Attorney General’s office and oppose the motion to delay. “We feel,” he said, “that further delays are prejudicial to our client.” He indicated that the ACLU intends to file their opposition on the record shortly.
