SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lawyers for the sponsors of California’s same-sex marriage ban are hoping a federal appeals court won’t mind that they produced only two witnesses during the trial that resulted in Proposition 8 being overturned.

They plan to argue during a hearing in San Francisco on Monday that the judge who struck down the measure improperly demanded live testimony, academic studies and other courtroom evidence in a case that should have hinged on legal precedents alone.

Legal experts say that reasoning is not far-fetched. They say the three judges hearing the appeal could discount the exhaustive trial evidence from attorneys for the two couples who sued to overturn the ban.

But even if the panel does discount the earlier evidence, observers say that does not mean the panel would automatically reverse the lower court.

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