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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Federal Judge Blocks Portions of Arizona's Immigration Law From Pending Trial

[Update] Governor Jan Brewer's statement about the ruling, here.

I am working on a large project at the moment, so this will be short and sweet and links to the ruling and analysis will be provided.

The ruling can be found here.

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton agreed to enjoin several provisions, including one that required police officers to check the immigration status of a person stopped for an alleged other violation, such as speeding, if reasonable suspicion existed that the individual was illegally in the U.S.


Some of what the judge left alone:

Beyond the four sections of the law to which the injunction applied, Judge Bolton ruled that the U.S. government was unlikely to prevail in its attempts to block several other sections. Among the provisions left intact, one would make it a crime to impede traffic while stopping a car to pick up illegal-immigrant day laborers, while another would stiffen penalties for existing crimes such as knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.


CNN provides answers as to what Arizona officials' options are:

One option is to ask the judge to revisit the issue after more complete fact-finding, Toobin said. A second option, which is more likely, is taking the case to the court of appeals.

"I think this a case very much destined for the Supreme Court," as other states pass similar laws, Toobin said.

The Court of Appeals could take up the case in a matter of days, but the earliest the Supreme Court could look at it would be October because the high court is in summer recess.


Hot Air provides some analysis.

More at NYT.

Pop over to Memeorandum to see reactions to this ruling.

[Update]7/29- Brewer files an appeal.

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