Court Urged to Make Davis Defend Prop. 187

SACRAMENTO —  Supporters of Proposition 187’s ban on most government benefits for illegal immigrants asked a federal appeals court Friday to force Gov. Gray Davis to defend the ballot measure.

Davis is considering whether to drop an appeal that former Gov. Pete Wilson filed last year after a federal judge ruled most of the ballot measure unconstitutional.

Attorneys on both sides of the case say the landmark measure, passed by 59% of the state’s voters in 1994, could be scuttled if Davis drops the appeal and the court fails to grant a request like the one filed Friday.

“The state’s voters deserve a vigorous defense of Proposition 187,” said Sharon L. Browne, attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents the measure’s authors. “A decision by the governor to drop the appeal would thoroughly undermine the will of the people.”

Attorneys on both sides have voiced doubt that attempts will be made to intervene in the lawsuit.

Browne declined to speculate Friday on the chances that her request will be granted. But attorneys challenging the ballot measure virtually dismissed it.

“It’s more than a long shot,” said Thomas A. Saenz, attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “Chances are at least 99% against it.”

The Pacific Legal Foundation attempted to join the case in 1997. Its motion was denied by the federal district court and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the case is now pending.

Still, in a letter to the same appeals court, Pacific Legal attorneys wrote Friday that there is precedent in cases involving significant issues of public interest.

“The integrity of our constitutional democracy is . . . tested by a system that would allow a governor--not in office when the initiative is enacted--to abolish a law simply by declining to defend it in the courts,” the letter said.

Davis has given no hint of his decision on Proposition 187, although he promised one this month.