Kenneth Starr and Shannon Minter, lead attorneys in the California Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of same-sex marriage in the state, are as different as the competing sides they represent.

Starr, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law, is best known for leading the inquiry into President Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern.

Since then, the former federal judge and U.S. solicitor general has dedicated himself to conservative causes, including writing briefs for the Mormon church in a previous gay marriage case in California.

Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco, is a transsexual who spent his first 35 years as a female. He was a lead counsel in the state Supreme Court case decided last May that allowed same-sex couples to marry, a ruling that was reversed in November when voters approved Proposition 8.

Starr and Minter will square off Thursday in the most closely watched California Supreme Court hearing in a generation. They're set to deliver oral arguments in three suits in which supporters of gay marriage contend that Proposition 8, which limits marriage to a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.

Minter, representing gay rights groups, will be the first attorney to address the court in San Francisco. Starr will deliver the final arguments on behalf of the Yes on 8 campaign.

Gay rights groups, the city of San Francisco and other local governments contend that Proposition 8 is not an amendment to the state constitution, but an illegal revision that should not have been placed on the ballot without the Legislature's approval.

Minter calls Thursday's proceedings "much bigger" than the case last May that invalidated Proposition 22; approved in 2000, it also limited marriage to a man and a woman.

"This is now about whether a majority can take away an inalienable right from one group of Californians," Minter said. "If the court were to say it's OK … then no one's rights would mean very much."

Starr did not respond to interview requests. But his co-counsel, Folsom attorney Andrew Pugno, disagreed with Minter's contention that Proposition 8 should never have been on the ballot.

"Minority rights exist only because the majority decided to protect them by adopting a constitution," Pugno said. "If the court misinterprets those rights, it's the people's job to correct that by clarifying the constitution."

In court papers, Starr contends that voters have the power to define marriage under the state constitution and that the court must accept their decision.

"Proposition 8's brevity is matched by its clarity," he wrote. "There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions."

State Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office will represented in court by attorney Christopher Krueger, is challenging Proposition 8 – but on different legal grounds from Minter.

Brown contends that the California Constitution declares certain rights to be fundamental, such as liberty and equality, and that the court held in last year's case that marriage was one of those rights.

The attorney general maintains that legal protections given to minorities and others can be taken away only if the state can show there is a "compelling interest." Proposition 8, Brown said, lacks that compelling interest.

In his court papers, Starr accuses Brown of overreaching with his legal argument.

"We will not mince words," he wrote. "The attorney general is inviting this court to declare a constitutional revolution."

As solicitor general, Starr argued several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Frank Schubert, who managed the Yes on 8 campaign, calls him "one of the nation's top jurists."

"He brings an extraordinary degree of credibility on constitutional law, which is ultimately what this case hinges on – whether or not people have the right to amend our constitution," Schubert said.

Like Starr, Minter was born in a small Texas town. But Jenny Pizer, Minter's co-counsel, quipped, "One would hardly say these two are cut from the same cloth."

Call Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5545.