8 . `` If you do n't agree with me that we have standing , '' Cooper told the court , `` then I do urge you to answer the California Supreme Court decision . '' Then Judge Stephen Reinhardt questioned attorney Robert Tyler , who represented Vargas , about how a deputy clerk , instead of the clerk , could have legal standing in the appeal . After a lengthy exchange , Reinhardt appeared frustrated and stated : `` If you do n't know the answer , say so , as the prior attorney did . '' In asserting that his client has standing in the appeal , Tyler told the court that the county clerks are local officers , but they perform state functions such as civil marriages . Monday 's arguments in San Francisco , California , were being divided into two hour-long sessions -- one over the legal standing of those appealing the decision , and one over the constitutionality of Proposition 8 . Monday 's hearing is the latest in a lengthy legal battle over same-sex marriage in California . The state 's high court had allowed same-sex marriage , but then the 2008 Proposition
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Attorneys on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate faced off Monday in a federal appeals court in California , as a panel of judges heard arguments about the constitutionality of Proposition 8 . In August , a federal judge ruled that the voter-approved measure , which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman , violated the U.S. Constitution . The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered an appeal of that judge 's ruling Monday . The three-judge panel opened Monday 's hearing with tough questioning of parties seeking to appeal the decision , including ProtectMarriage.com and Isabel Vargas , who 's a deputy clerk and deputy commissioner of civil marriages for Imperial County , California , where voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 8 . `` What 's your best case to allow for your standing in federal court ? '' one judge asked attorney Charles Cooper , representing ProtectMarriage.com . `` Your honor , I do n't have a case , '' Cooper responded , referring to relevant court cases . Cooper later urged the panel to consider how the California Supreme Court earlier ruled in favor of the voter-approved Proposition