Vaughn Walker, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, will meet with lawyers of a federal case seeking the invalidation of Proposition 8 today (Thursday, July 2). On Tuesday he issued a preliminary ruling indicating that he prefers hearing the lawsuit in an expedited manner rather than issuing an injunction that would allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the state.

"Because entering a preliminary injunction may raise novel concerns that could be avoided through a prompt decision on the merits, the court's tentative plan is instead to proceed expeditiously to trial," Walker wrote.

The judge also will allow Prop 8's proponents to be a party to the lawsuit, since state Attorney General Jerry Brown has asked the court to throw out the anti-gay measure. Today's hearing will focus on the trial schedule and outlining which issues Walker wants the lawyers on both sides to brief him on. Walker could issue a ruling by the end of the year.

Attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies, who argued on opposite sides in the 2000 Bush v. Gore lawsuit, filed the federal lawsuit, Perry v. Schwarzenegger , on behalf of two California same-sex couples. The lawsuit argues that Prop 8 violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process of the law.

The San Francisco City Attorney's office filed an amicus brief in the case supporting the lawsuit. At Sunday's Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Pride breakfast, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said that it was important that his office "send a signal to California and the nation" in support of marriage equality.

Last week, several civil rights groups also filed an amicus brief in the case. The American Civil Liberties Union joined with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Center for Lesbian Rights in submitting the friend of the court brief. Interestingly, all three groups initially suggested that "premature lawsuits based on the federal Constitution" could be "ill-timed." The groups did not specifically mention the Perry lawsuit but noted that the "U.S. Supreme Court likely is not yet ready to rule that same-sex couples cannot be barred from marriage."

Kate Kendell, executive director for NCLR, told the Bay Area Reporter this week that the question the groups had was with the timing, not the substance, of the federal lawsuit.

"The quarrel we've always had was not with the arguments themselves – we believe Prop 8 is unconstitutional – the question in our mind was the timing," Kendell said.

Kendell said that since the case is moving forward, the groups decided to file the amicus brief.

She also said that the legal organizations have been "in almost daily contact" with the Olson-Boies legal team.

"We felt it was important that legal groups at the state level weigh in," Kendell said.

Cynthia Laird contributed to this report. The B.A.R. will have coverage of Thursday's hearing online at ebar.com.