(CN) - The 9th Circuit asked the California Supreme Court on Tuesday to weigh in on the challenge to the state's gay marriage ban.
In an unsigned order seeking guidance from the state's high court, the three-judge panel noted that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was sworn in as California's 39th governor Monday, would not defend Proposition 8 or appeal a federal judge's ruling that found the voter initiative was unconstitutional.
In light of the officials' silence, the federal appeals panel in San Francisco questioned whether the groups that sponsored the ban have standing to defend the measure's constitutionality.
"As we are aware of no controlling state precedent on this precise question, we respectfully ask the Supreme Court of California to exercise its discretion to accept and decide the certified question below," the order states.
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