MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2010


KLMNO THE NATION


Arizona’s immigration law goes before U.S. appeals court


LOWERRULING IS AT ISSUE


Panelwill focus on


most-contested segments BY JERRY MARKON


The divisive issue of illegal


immigration will take center stage briefly Monday as the Obama administration returns to court in its effort to overturn Arizona’s controversial new im- migration law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for


the 9th Circuit will hear Arizo- na’s appeal of a lower-court rul- ing that blocked the most-con- tested provisions of the law from taking effect. The law, signed in April by Gov. Jan Brewer (R), empowers police to question people whom they have a “rea- sonable suspicion” of being in the country illegally. Amid a fierce debate over the


measure, the JusticeDepartment sought to overturn the law by taking the rare step of suing Arizona. Government attorneys won the first round in July when U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton, seated in Phoenix, put on hold provisions that would re- quire police to check immigra- tion status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws, allow for warrantless arrests of sus- pected illegal immigrants and criminalize the failure of legal immigrants to carry their regis- tration papers. Civil rights groups and federal


lawyers had objected to those provisions in particular, while Arizona officials defended them as necessary to fight a tide of illegal immigration. Bolton al- lowed other portions of the law to take effect, including one making it a crime to stop a car to pick up day laborers. Brewer, whose outspoken crit-


icism of the federal lawsuit has helped her popularity at home, has vowed to take her appeal of the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 9th Circuit hearing in San Francisco is the next step, and legal experts say the case likely will wind up before the high court within several years. The lawsuit ratcheted up the


political and legal debate over the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants,withRepubli- cans condemning the adminis- tration and civil rights groups praising it for fighting a law that they contend targets Hispanics. Talk of immigration has reced-


ed somewhat in the runup to the elections, especially compared to the economy, but it has been a key factor in a number of races. Monday’s argument, which Brewer plans to attend, will shine an even brighter light on the issue. Legal experts said Brewer’s


attorneys may face a difficult task because appellate judges tend to defer to lower courts when reviewing an interim legal step such as an injunction. The only issue Monday is whether to uphold Bolton’s order stopping parts of the law from taking effect while the federal lawsuit proceeds. The law’s constitution- ality will be decided later.


Judges ‘likely to uphold’ “Appellate judges have a ten-


dency not tomuck around in the district court’s backfield too much,’’ said Jonathan Benner, a Washington lawyer who has ar- gued numerous cases involving federal-state conflicts. “Unless the appeals court believes that [Bolton] blewit, they are likely to uphold the injunction.’’ It is also difficult to draw


conclusions from the composi- tion of the three-judge panel hearing the case. Judges John T. Noonan Jr. and Carlos T. Bea are appointees of Republican presi- dents,while judgeRichardA. Pez is a Democratic appointee. But Bea and Paez are of His-


panic descent, and it isHispanics who are most upset about the Arizona law. Legal briefs indicate that the


two sides are likely to make arguments similar to those they have advanced for months. The Justice Department says the Ari- zona statute is “preempted” by federal law because immigration enforcement is solely a federal prerogative. The department sued, a Jus-


tice Department brief says, “to prevent the Arizona law from interfering with the federal gov- ernment’s exclusive authority to establish the Nation’s immigra- tion policy and priorities.’’


JOSE LUIS MAGANA/ASSOCIATED PRESS


‘Citizens are suffering’ Attorneys for Arizona wrote


that the law was “carefully craft- ed” to ensure its constitutionali- ty andwas necessary because the federal government has failed to enforce immigration laws. “The harm that Arizona and


its citizens are suffering as a result of illegal immigration is well documented and undisput- ed,’’ the Arizona brief says. “The district court’s injunction cannot stand.’’ More than 25 briefs were filed


by other individuals and groups, reflecting the national divide over the issue. Eleven states, 10 of them with


Republican attorneys general, weighed in on Arizona’s side, along with nearly 70 Republican members of Congress. Nearly 20 cities and counties nationwide are arguing on the administra- tion’s behalf, as is the govern- ment ofMexico. “Mexico has an interest in


protecting its citizens and ensur- ing that their ethnicity is not used as a basis for state-sanc- tioned acts of bias and discrimi- nation,’’ that country’s brief says. It is not clear when the panel


will issue its decision. The losing side can ask the three judges to re-evaluate or seek review by the full 9th Circuit. markonj@washpost.com


FLORIDA


Countdown begins for shuttle launch After a two-day delay, NASA’s


countdown clocks began ticking Sunday toward the final launch of space shuttleDiscovery. A pair of gas leaks resulted in


back-to-back launch postpone- ments for Discovery. NASA test director Steve Payne said repairs took care of the problem and en- abled the launchteamto aimfor a Wednesday liftoff. Forecasters put the odds of


goodweather at 70percent for the 3:52 p.m. liftoff. Discovery ismaking its last trip


to orbit. Its destination is the in- ternational space station. Aboard the shuttle is a pressurized com- partment full of supplies—even a futuristic robot—thatwill remain permanently at the station. The mission will last 11 days


and feature two spacewalks. —Associated Press


MICHIGAN


Pontiac brand ends its 84-year run Pontiac, whose muscle cars


drag-raced down boulevards, parked at drive-ins and roared


acrossmovie screens, went out of business on Sunday. The 84-year-old brand, mori-


bund sinceGeneralMotors decid- ed to kill it last year as it collapsed into bankruptcy, had been in de- cline for years. Itwas undone by a combination of poor corporate strategy and changing driver tastes. On Oct. 31, GM’s agree- mentswithPontiacdealersexpire. —Associated Press


NEWJERSEY


Ex-Rutgers students fight video allegations Attorneys for two former Rut-


gersUniversity freshmen accused of webcasting a male classmate having sex with another man are disputing allegations against them. Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei


were chargedwithinvasionofpri- vacy after prosecutors say Ravi used awebcamSept. 19 to capture his roommate, Tyler Clementi, having a gay sexual encounter. Clementi jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge days later. But Steven Altman and Rubin


Sinins, who represent Ravi and Wei respectively, told the Star- Ledger of Newark that the web- camstreamwas only viewed on a


single computer and didnot show themen having sex. Ravi and Wei recently with-


drew from Rutgers. Prosecutors areconsideringwhether tocharge themwith a hate crime. —Associated Press


Bird excites N.Y. library: A little blue and gold bird on Fifth Ave- nue. That’s what excited employ- eesof theNewYorkPublicLibrary on a recent day—a prothonotary (proh-THON-uh-ter-ee) warbler onawallnear the stone lionbythe main steps. The New York Times reports that the bird first ap- peared 10 days ago and stayed a wholeweek before taking off.


Calif. woman killed on go-kart: A 67-year-old Southern California woman was killed after she lost control of a go-kart-like vehicle and veered into traffic on a busy street.OrangeCountySheriff ’sLt. Lloyd Downing said Sunday that Hwa Oh of Fullerton was with relatives in the parking lot of a swap meet Saturday evening when she decided to take a turn onthe vehicle.ButOhlost control of the cart and ran through some bushes, across a sidewalk and onto a street in Stanton, where she was struck by a car. She was declared dead at a hospital. —Fromnews services


DIGEST


An Army team carries the transfer case containing the remains of Army Spec. PedroA. Maldonado of Houston upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Maldonado died in Afghanistan.


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