According to a report by Carl Hall in the San Francisco Chronicle, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw "denied essentially every legal argument brought by the plaintiffs in litigation alleging that Prop. 71 violated the state Constitution because it would allow taxpayer-backed bond revenues to be distributed without direct legislative control."
Sabraw was appointed to the bench by Gov. Wilson, a fact that should not be an encouragement to foes of CIRM.
Hall continued:
"In a 24-page decision issued late Tuesday, Sabraw said the plaintiffs had failed to overcome a fundamental presumption that voter mandates must be honored unless they were shown to be "clearly, positively and unmistakably unconstitutional."
"She denied five separate motions seeking summary judgment, any one of which might have been enough to put the closely watched California stem cell enterprise on ice for a very long time, if not out of business.
"Arguments turned aside by the judge included claims that the initiative deals with more than one subject, allows financial conflicts of interest in awarding stem cell research grants and would "alter the basic governmental framework."
"The judge did not throw out the lawsuits entirely. Instead, she set a hearing for Tuesday for lawyers to work out a plan for the next critical proceedings in court.
"But because Sabraw turned back virtually all of the plaintiffs' arguments, it appears they will have to be extraordinarily creative if they hope to keep the lawsuits moving forward -- and the stem cell institute standing still."
Hall continued: "She denied everything the plaintiffs asked," Klein said. "I would go into any hearing with this on our side."
Hall also reported that Dana Cody, executive director of the anti-abortion Life Legal Defense Foundation in Sacramento, one of the lawyers seeking to overturn Prop. 71, didn't return telephone calls late Tuesday. Other lawyers on the plaintiffs' side couldn't be reached for comment, according to Hall.
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