9th Circuit Court Hears Arguments in Hawai‘i v Trump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7IJARo-6iI

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Seattle heard arguments today in Hawaiʻi v. Trump. The panel consisted of Judge Ronald Gould, Judge Michael Hawkins, and Judge Richard Paez.

Background image, live stream from US Courts for the 9th Circuit. Maui Now graphic overlay.

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Doug Chin said, “In today’s argument, we asked the court to uphold Judge Watson’s order issuing a nationwide injunction against the second travel ban. We urged the court that Judge Watson’s well-reasoned decision should be affirmed. As expected, the panel judges asked informed and probing questions of both parties. We look forward to the court’s ruling.”

In his ruling issuing the nationwide injunction, Judge Watson wrote that “a reasonable, objective observer — enlightened by the specific historical context, contemporaneous public statements, and specific sequence of events leading to its issuance — would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion.”

Below is a brief timeline of events that led to today’s hearing:

• January 27 – President Trump issued the first executive order. It banned entry for 90 days by citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The order also indefinitely halted refugees from Syria.
• February 3 – US District Court Judge James Robart in Washington issued an order blocking the ban nationwide.
• February 9 – A three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Robart’s injunction. The panel consisted of Judge William Canby, Judge Richard Clifton, and Judge Michelle Friedland.
• March 6 – President Trump issued the second executive order. It excluded Iraq from the list of Muslim-majority countries whose citizens were temporarily blocked. The ban, which was set to take effect on March 16, barred foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days.
• March 7 – Hawaiʻi filed the first challenge against the second travel ban.
• March 15 – US District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaiʻi blocked the second travel ban hours before it was set to begin. The temporary restraining order applied nationwide.
• March 29 – Judge Watson granted the State’s request for a longer-term halt of the revised travel ban executive order.
• April 7 – Department of Justice filed an opening brief seeking to overturn the preliminary injunction.

There is no set timeline for when the panel may issue a ruling. The injunction against the travel ban remains in place until the Ninth Circuit rules.