As I anticipated, the plaintiffs in Utah will support the state’s petition for certiorari. Adam Liptak has the report:

Lawyers for three couples challenging Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage said Thursday that they would join with their opponents to urge the Supreme Court to hear their case, even though they recently won an appeals court ruling striking down the law.

The unusual move could hasten a final ruling from the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. It also reflects confidence among proponents of same-sex marriage that the court would rule in their favor.

Neal Katyal, who represents the plaintiffs explains why this is so momentous:

Neal Katyal, a former acting United States solicitor general who also represents the Utah couples, said the importance of the issue warranted an unusual approach.

“This is the defining issue for the Supreme Court in our lifetime,” he said. “The notion that the government could deny life’s greatest partnership on the basis of orientation is capricious and strikes at everything this country is about.”

He said the couples would file a brief in coming weeks joining Utah’s request that the Supreme Court hear the case. Such a filing would come in time for the justices to consider the case at their first private conference when they return from their summer break. Should the justices agree to hear the case, they could schedule arguments in the winter and issue a decision by June.