Starr told the audience he would not speak in-depth publicly about his scheduled March 5 appearance before the California Supreme Court, where he will argue in favor of upholding a ban on same-sex marriage approved by voters under Proposition 8.

"I'm not going to be talking about that," he said. "One of my precepts is never argue outside the courtroom, on the courthouse steps, so to speak, your case. At the same time, I recognize how important the issue is, so a compromise that occurred to me is simply to share with you several sentences, briefly, from two sources of law."

Starr then read from prior opinions of the California Supreme Court on the limits of public officials' ability to execute their public duties as well as a passage from the California state constitution stating that only marriage between a man and a woman is legally valid.

Starr, who is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, referred to his long-standing connections with members of the church. He helped host the J. Reuben Clark Law Society's 2007 conference held in Malibu, Calif., where Starr serves as dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law.

"My ties to the LDS community generally, and to this society specifically, are quite enduring," he said. "I treasure my friendship with the great Rex Lee and I was honored to serve two terms on the board of visitors for the J. Reuben Clark School of Law."

Starr said he grew up in Texas and spent time in northern Virginia, both areas with strong LDS communities.

"I have hung out at the law school at Brigham Young for various and sundry reasons going way back to my membership on the board for two terms," Starr said.

When asked for his thoughts on political matters, including news that Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., have expressed desires to investigate former president George W. Bush, Starr did not have much to say.

"I don't comment on politics," he said. "That's obviously for the Article One (of the U.S. Constitution) branch. I'm practicing law over in the Article Three branch."