Prop. 8 arguments: Audio and transcript from U.S. Supreme Court

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Edith Windsor, 83, is mobbed by journalists and supporters as she leaves the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Windsor brought the case challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Plaintiff Edith Windsor, left, an 83-year-old lesbian who challenged the Defense of Marriage Act in court after she was ordered to pay federal inheritance tax of $363,000 following the death of her partner of more than 40 years in 2009, arrives with her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, at the Supreme Court. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Heather Davidson and Julie Berger of Shelbyville, Ind., joins hundreds of other people lining up outside the Supreme Court in hopes of getting in to hear oral arguments in the DOMA case. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Outside the Supreme Court, where justices heard oral arguments Wednesday on the Defense of Marriage Act. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Wyatt Tan, left and Mark Nomadiou of New York City kiss in front of the Supreme Court in Washington before arguments began in a hearing on the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

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Same-sex marriage supporters demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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A group from Alabama prays in front of the Supreme Court in Washington before the court’s hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

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Gay marriage supporters rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington as justices heard arguments over the Defense of Marriage Act. (Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images)

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Two couples kiss in front anti-gay protesters at the Supreme Court. (Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images)

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Demonstrators carry banners and flags in front of the Supreme Court. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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Marcos Garcia holds a flag symbolizing marriage equality outside the Supreme Court. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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People wait outside the Supreme Court before the justices began hearing oral arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Same-sex marriage supporters and opponents argue their points in front of the Supreme Court. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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Same-sex marriage supporters talk with opponents in front of the Supreme Court. Some slept outside in hopes of witnessing the historic hearing. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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A same-sex marriage supporter, left, and an opponent scuffle during a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court, which took up the issue of gay marriage Tuesday. Waving U.S. and rainbow flags, hundreds of gay marriage supporters braved the cold to rally outside of the court along with a smaller group of opponents. Some slept outside in hopes of witnessing the historic hearing. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Attorneys David Boies, left, and Theodore Olson, right, and plaintiffs leave the Supreme Court after oral arguments. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

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Demonstrators march outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. where the justices were hearing arguments on California’s voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

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Andrea Grill, right, and Lee Ann Hopkins from Alexandria, Va., kiss after becoming engaged during a rally outside of the U.S Supreme Court. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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Same-sex marriage takes center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court. (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

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A protester display placards in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

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Members of the public enter the Supreme Court, where arguments are scheduled to be heard. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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Lining up to enter the Supreme Court. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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Gay rights supporter Jeremy Pittman hands out flags. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)

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The emotionally charged issue draws a crowd outside the Supreme Court. (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

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Hollingsworth vs. Perry plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier. (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

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Supporters of same-sex marriage make a statement. (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images)

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People hold their tickets for entrance to the Supreme Court. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

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Attorney Ted Olson, right, will argue for opponents of California’s Proposition 8. He was solicitor general for President George W. Bush and is former head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in the Reagan administration. He is a prominent Supreme Court litigator, and has handled cases including Bush v. Gore, which he argued for George W. Bush after the presidential election in 2000, and the Citizens United case in 2010, in which the court overturned restrictions on corporate political spending. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

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Attorney Charles J. Cooper will argue for supporters of Prop. 8. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist. He succeeded Ted Olson as head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Attorney Donald B. Verrilli Jr. will argue on behalf of the White House in opposing DOMA. He will also join in the arguments against Prop. 8. Verrilli, a graduate of Yale and Columbia Law School, clerked for Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Verrilli went from private practice to the Justice Department in 2009 and became deputy counsel to the president in the White House in 2010. He was named solicitor general in 2011. Roberta Kaplan, not pictured, will also argue in opposition to DOMA, on behalf of a lesbian whose spouse died in 2009. She has been representing gay couples in New York attempting to marry or obtain federal benefits since at least 2006. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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Paul Clement will argue for the House of Representatives in support of DOMA. An alumnus of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Harvard Law School, Clement clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia and succeeded Ted Olson as solicitor general in the George W. Bush administration. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

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Justice Anthony Kennedy is the likely swing vote on these issues on the court. He graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He was appointed by Gerald Ford to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and by Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1988. Kennedy has written two Supreme Court opinions favorable to gays. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

By Los Angeles Times staff

March 26, 2013 10:28 AM PT

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. The court has provided rare same-day audio and written transcript of the proceedings.

The justices sounded closely split on gay marriage. However, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, considered the key swing vote, suggested the court should strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage without ruling broadly on the issue.

FULL COVERAGE: Battle over gay marriage

His comments suggested that the court’s four most conservative justices voted to hear the California case. Had the justices turned down the appeal, as Kennedy suggested, Proposition 8 would have been struck down on the grounds of a narrow ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, Douglas NeJaime, a professor at Loyola Law School, and John Eastman, a professor at Chapman University School of Law, have agreed to break down the arguments for The Times.

FOLLOW THEIR ANALYSIS: Transcript of oral arguments

In addition, the complete audio file of the hour-long session is available below.

LISTEN: Key moments in the courtroom

GRAPHIC: Gay marriage in the U.S.

PHOTOS: Supreme Court considers gay marriage

CHEAT SHEET: Gay marriage cases in front of U.S. Supreme Court