Two appellate judges appointed by Democratic presidents and one judge appointed by a Republican president will conduct Tuesday’s emergency hearing on President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Ninth Circuit Senior Judge William Canby Jr., appointed by President Jimmy Carter, Judge Michelle Friedland, appointed by President Barack Obama, and Senior Judge Richard Clifton, appointed by President George W. Bush, will hear the Department of Justice’s emergency request to reinstate Trump’s order.
The Trump Administration is seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge James Robart’s nationwide temporary restraining order staying much of President Trump’s immigration and refugee ban.
Judges Canby and Friedland were the two judges who rejected the Trump Administration’s request for an immediate stay of the ruling by Judge Robart.
Judge Robart is an appointee of President George W. Bush who was labeled a “so-called judge” by President Trump in a tweet disparaging his court order.
The lawsuit, State of Washington v. Trump, was filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota. The oral argument today will be live streamed by the Ninth Circuit.
Clifton is considered moderately conservative, while the two Democrat-appointed judges are seen as moderately liberal, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Canby Jr., 85, is a senior judge who attended the University of Minnesota Law School.
Friedland, 46, obtain her law degree from Stanford Law school.
Clifton, 66, is a senior judge who attended Yale Law School.
The two senior judges have a semi-retired status and have the option of accepting a reduced case load.
If the Trump Administration loses, it could seek immediate review by the entire Ninth Circuit — called en banc review — or it could immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
