A little bit of correction:
First, this was not an appeals court. It was a ruling by the District Court judge to whom the case was reassigned after Judge Walker retired.
Second, Proposition 8 is still on appeal. Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal court responsible for reviewing this decision) certified a question to the California Supreme Court. State courts are supposed to have the last word on the interpretation of their state's law, so many state courts will accept "certified questions" from federal courts where an issue of that state's law is unclear. I believe the California Supreme Court has yet to hear arguments on the certified question, which has to do with the standing of the Prop. 8 defenders to pursue their appeal.
So the original judgment still needs to work its way through the appellate system. The California Supreme Court will issue its ruling, and send the answer to the Ninth Circuit. The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit will then issue its ruling. One side or the other might ask the Ninth Circuit to hear the case en banc, meaning an eleven-judge panel of that circuit. And whether that happens or not, you can expect somebody to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case (though it doesn't have to, and in fact declines to hear the vast majority of cases people ask it to take).
This motion before the District Court was a sort of collateral attack on the judgment separate from the still-pending appeal. A sideshow, really. I suppose the moving parties could seek appellate review of this ruling as well, and I wouldn't put anything past the bigots who would bring such a motion, but I hope they get sanctioned for a frivolous appeal if they do. It's been clearly established for a long time that black judges can decide race discrimination cases, women judges can decide gender discrimination cases, etc.
