With Gov. Neil Abercrombie opposing the request and his state Health Director Loretta Fuddy supporting it, a federal judge granted a motion Monday by the Hawaii Family Forum to intervene in a court case and defend Hawaii laws banning same-sex marriages.
Senior U.S. District Judge Alan Kay noted the "odd posture" of the case, with the two state officials taking different positions.
But he ruled that the Christian group established enough of an interest in the state laws for him to grant its intervention request.
The judge said the group could help provide a comprehensive and broad analysis of the issues.
The case involves a federal lawsuit challenging the laws as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s due-process and equal-protection provisions.
In response to the suit, the governor declared he agrees the laws violate the Constitution, while Fuddy said she will defend laws reserving marriage between a man and a woman.
Abercrombie’s lawyer, Deputy Attorney General Robert Nakatsuji, sided with Honolulu attorney John D’Amato, who represent the plaintiffs in opposing the intervention.
They argued Hawaii Family Forum did not establish enough of an interest in the marriage laws to justify joining in the case. They also said Fuddy would sufficiently represent the group’s interests.
Fuddy’s lawyer, Deputy Attorney General William Wynhoff, submitted legal arguments saying the judge should have "the broadest, most comprehensive and best discussion" for one of the most important cases in the nation.
The group’s lawyer, Holly Carmichael of Scottsdale, Ariz., said the "very unusual" position of state officials presenting "a house divided" raises the issue of whether her group’s interests will be adequately represented by Fuddy.
"We are delighted that HFF has the opportunity to intervene and present a full and vigorous defense of Hawaii marriage laws," Carmichael said later.
Carmichael is with the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which was part of the legal team that represented proponents of California’s Proposition 8, which sought to overturn state court rulings that permitted gay marriages there.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the proposition earlier this year. Carmichael said they are asking the appeals court to rehear the case with a larger panel of judges.
Carmichael said she is not aware of any other situation in which a governor has taken a position on same-sex marriages and a department head another.
Nakatsuji and Girard Lau, the state solicitor general and head of the Appeals Division, both represent Abercrombie and sat at the counsel table Monday with D’Amato. Wynhoff sat at the counsel table with Hawaii Family Forum lawyers on the other side of the courtroom.
"We’re disappointed," D’Amato said. "We don’t believe they should have been permitted to intervene."
D’Amato represents Natasha Jackson and Janina Kleid, who were denied a marriage license, and Gary Bradley, who has a male partner.
The trial on the lawsuit is scheduled for April 2013.
