The information is accurate, the article just isn't cited correctly.
Basically, federal courts don't get involved in a hypothetical game. You can't sue over a proposed law and get an opinion in advance on whether or not it is constitutional. This is mandated by Article III of the constitution in what is referred to as the "case or controversy" clause indicating that judicial power only extends to actual conflicts between parties.
In general, in order to have standing before a federal court (and most state courts in most situations) you have to meet three requirements:
1. There has to be an actual case or controversy (i.e. not a hypothetical issue)
2. The case has to be "ripe" (i.e. there has to be an actual conflict rather than potential for a future conflict)
3. The case can't be "moot" (i.e. the controversy can't have been effectively resolved by the time it got to the court)
There are a handful of exceptions, but those are the basic parameters.
The first two requirements prevent a judge from opining that a Prop. 8 like law violates the constitution through a judicial opinion prior to its passage. If there is no law on the books yet there is no case or controversy. Until someone is prevented from getting married by the law, the issue is not yet ripe.
If Prop 8 had been repealed before the trial, the case would have been dismissed as moot.
Clear enough?
Basically, federal courts don't get involved in a hypothetical game. You can't sue over a proposed law and get an opinion in advance on whether or not it is constitutional. This is mandated by Article III of the constitution in what is referred to as the "case or controversy" clause indicating that judicial power only extends to actual conflicts between parties.
In general, in order to have standing before a federal court (and most state courts in most situations) you have to meet three requirements:
1. There has to be an actual case or controversy (i.e. not a hypothetical issue)
2. The case has to be "ripe" (i.e. there has to be an actual conflict rather than potential for a future conflict)
3. The case can't be "moot" (i.e. the controversy can't have been effectively resolved by the time it got to the court)
There are a handful of exceptions, but those are the basic parameters.
The first two requirements prevent a judge from opining that a Prop. 8 like law violates the constitution through a judicial opinion prior to its passage. If there is no law on the books yet there is no case or controversy. Until someone is prevented from getting married by the law, the issue is not yet ripe.
If Prop 8 had been repealed before the trial, the case would have been dismissed as moot.
Clear enough?