SAN FRANCISCO AP – An attempt to oust a liberal judge from hearing a landmark gay marriage case in California ended Thursday almost as quickly as it began.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request that he recuse himself from the Proposition 8 case because he is married to Ramona Ripston, who plans to retire in February as head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Southern California office.