Opinion: Proposition 8: Kenneth Starr has undeniable style

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If the case were being decided on the basis of the attorneys’ styles, I’d have to hand it to Kenneth Starr, the defender, who handles his arguments with articulate, easygoing panache. The anti-Proposition 8 side might have been at a disadvantage by having several lawyers. The sense of rush to finish by their allotted times, and the lack of a smooth flow to the arguments, made for a choppier set of discussions. Starr has had more opportunity to build his argument, which mainly revolves around the idea that the court should exercise jurisprudence, relying on its history of rulings about revision rather than moving in a new direction.

It’s questionable, though, whether Starr’s light humor, his smiles as he compared changes to marriage law to a previous case in which an affronted wife challenged no-fault divorce fits well with the subject at hand. The justices appear intense and even occasionally impassioned as they parse the question of the right of voters to revoke the rights of others.