SB1070 Legal Team
A three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit court of appeals heard arguments Monday in the Department of Justice's complaint against Arizona's illegal immigration enforcement law SB1070. During the hearing Judge John T. Noonan Jr had some harsh words for the Department of Justice and its arguments against SB1070.
"I've read your brief, I've read the District Court opinion, I've heard your interchange with my two colleagues, and I don't understand your argument." Noonan said. I would like to second Noonan's opinion having read SB1070.
U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton in Phoenix put a hold on portions of the law back in July 2010. Arizona appealed and that is where things sit as of now. The case is expected to reach the US Supreme Court as both sides say they are not going to back down.
There are three judges that are hearing the appeals case: John T. Noonan Jr., Carlos T. Bea and Richard A. Paez. Bea and Paez are of Hispanic descent, which has perked some interest around the accusations that the laws are racial profiling - at least in the so called "Hispanic Community" that the pro-illegal, race-based Hispanic groups claim exist. With that being said I am doubting that it will have much impact on the appeals case. The pro-illegal alien groups would try and have you believe that this is about America, and Arizona in particular, against Latinos, but the reality is it is about the rule of law; and when arguing things based on the rule of law and not on their ridiculous accusations that America is racist, SB1070 should have no problems.
As far as general stances, Noonan and Bea are Republican appointed justices who tend toward conservative results in their judgments. In other words they follow the rule of law. Paez is a Democrat appointed justice, which to me means he may side with the bleeding heart or emotional plea of "this is racist" over the written rule of law. Color me skeptical, but over my life I have found liberals are totally driven by emotion over reason and I have little faith in their judgment when it comes to cracking down on issues like illegal immigration.
The lawyer for Arizona, John J. Bouma, said that claims by the pro-race Hispanic groups are unfounded as Arizona has always been a mix of ethnicities.
"Arizona has a long and proud tradition of a Hispanic population, and nobody is trying to take away from that," Bouma said.
Press room after court hearing
Supporters of SB1070 rallied outside the courthouse. Governor Jan Brewer came out to massive amounts of press and had this to say via Facebook:
Just left court. Had press conference with about 100 reporters. It was my duty and honor to represent Arizona today and defend SB1070. It was truly a historic day. Thanks for the supporters outside the courthouse.
Time will tell the outcome of this appeal and the outcome of the coming Supreme Court case.
Sources: Photos Courtesy Jan Brewer | Washington Post
