On Wednesday afternoon, Justice Anthony Kennedy revised his order from hours earlier so as to declare that same-sex marriages can move forward in Nevada — but not in Idaho, at least for now.
The Supreme Court justice’s original order put on hold a ruling on Tuesday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which consolidated cases from Nevada and Idaho and struck down both states’ gay marriage bans.
It’s unclear whether Kennedy — who has jurisdiction over appeals within the 9th Circuit — had a change of heart or whether he merely made a mistake in his initial order. But his new order reversed a part of his old order.
“IT IS ORDERED that the portion of the order issued on this date entering a stay of the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in case No. 12-17668 is hereby vacated,” he wrote, referring to the Nevada case.
The key difference is that Idaho is appealing the 9th Circuit ruling, while Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) announced that his state won’t take further legal action on the issue.
