Brewer to be at CA court hearing on election eve
by KTAR.com (October 26th, 2010 @ 1:20pm)

PHOENIX -- A fund created by Gov. Jan Brewer to defend Arizona's new immigration law against legal challenges now exceeds $1 million, with a hearing scheduled Monday before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The largest donation to the fund is $1.5 million from Timothy Mellon, an heir to a Pittsburgh steel and banking industry, according to FOX 10 News.

FOX 10 says more than 42,000 people have contributed to the fund. Most donations are between $20 and $100 and mainly from Arizona, California, Texas, Florida and New York. People from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have contributed.

So far, Arizona has paid more than $441,000 in legal fees to defend the law, known as Senate Bill 1070 before it was signed into law by Brewer.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued an injunction blocking key portions of the law from taking effect in July. Among the provisions put on hold was one that allowed police to arrest and detain suspected illegal immigrants without a warrant and another that would require immigrants to carry federal documents to prove they were in the U.S. legally.

Although Monday is the day before the general election, Brewer plans to attend the 9th Circuit hearing.

The Republican -- who moved into the governor's chair two years ago when Janet Napolitano became Homeland Security secretary -- is seeking her first full term and holds a comfortable lead over Democrat Terry Goddard in most polls.