Arizona asks 9th Circuit to restore SB1070
by KTAR.com (November 1st, 2010 @ 8:23am)

SAN FRANCISCO -- A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was poised to hear arguments Monday that a federal judge's ruling, striking down key parts of Arizona's immigration law, should be overturned.

The July ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton of Phoenix is being appealed by Gov. Jan Brewer and the state of Arizona.

The rejected provisions of Senate Bill 1070, the immigration law, include a requirement that police, while enforcing other laws, must question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally.

ABC legal analyst Royal Oakes said no ruling would come from the 9th Circuit on Monday.

"The decision will not emerge immediately. The judges will take some time -- days or weeks -- to issue their written decision."

Neither Brewer nor the author of SB1070, State Sen. Russell Pearce, were optimistic about getting their way before the three-judge panel.

"This is not a great panel," said Pearce. "I guess it could have been worse, I'm not so sure. It's got two guys on here that you can almost guess their ruling, but we'll win in the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision."

Brewer said, "I think we have a very good solid case. The fact is we know the 9th Circuit is a liberal court that we're headed into."

However, Arizona State University law professor Paul Bender told FOX 10 News that the state's chances would rest with the three judges, picked at random from the 23 judges on the 9th Circuit.


"I hate to say this, but I think it's true. It all depends on the panel," Bender said. "The 9th Circuit has some extremely conservative judges, it has some extremely liberal judges. It's the whole spectrum."

The names of the judges chosen to hear the case were released over the weekend. They are Judge John Noonan, nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan; Judge Carlos Bea, nominated by President George W. Bush; and Judge Richard Paez, nominated by President Bill Clinton.

If the three-judge panel rules against Arizona, the state could request that the full 9th Circuit hear its appeal. The next stop would be the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oakes said SB1070 would have a better chance at the high court level, provided the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

"You often get 5-4 conservative decisions as opposed to their chances before the 9th Circuit which has a reputation for being more liberal than the U.S. Supreme Court."

Brewer traveled to San Francisco to attend Monday's court hearing -- a trip that didn't set well with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat who is challenging the Republican governor in Tuesday's election.

"This is pure grandstanding," Goddard said. "The governor has no role whatsoever in this hearing. It is to try to determine whether the injunction was properly granted."

Goddard's office stepped down and allowed Brewer to hire her own attorneys for the appeal on SB1070. Goddard had said that, while he did not agree with the law, he would have defended it vigorously. However, he said he stepped out of the case because there was enough controversy about SB1070.

Brewer, on Fox News, questioned what the federal government will do as more states pass their own versions of SB1070.

"Are they going to sue those states and their governors? Are they going to have 22 states that they're suing? It's unbelievable."

Pearce vented his anger at the Obama Administration.

"They sued Sheriff Joe (Arpaio), they sued us over 1070. This is the first time, the first time in the history of the United States a sitting president has sighted with a foreign government to serve the citizens of this country," Pearce said.

He said Arizona has a right and obligation to protect its border.

"We have an obligation. States have an obligation to their citizens. We're citizens of our sovereign states, not of the United States. Every state is guaranteed a sovereign form of government."