Travel Ban 2.0 is back in the spotlight, and the courtroom, this time in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle. On Monday, the court will be hearing arguments over a Hawaii District Court judge’s decision to order a preliminary injunction blocking parts of President Donald Trump‘s executive order on immigration. LawNewz.com will be streaming the hearing in the player above at 9:30 am local time, 12:30 pm ET.
The injunction was a nationwide block of the portions of the executive order that restricted travel to the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries, and suspended the acceptance of refugees. The Hawaii judge issued his order hours before the ban was set to take effect. At the time, Cornell Law Professor Stephen Yale-Loehr said in a statement to LawNewz.com, “This is a major setback for President Trump. The travel ban litigation will continue for a long time, and could reach the Supreme Court. President Trump and his advisors should think long and hard before trying to impose a travel ban a third time. They may strike out.”
Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments regarding a similar block that only targeted the part of the order regarding travel from those six countries. A decision has yet to be announced in that case.
Unlike the Fourth Circuit case, which was heard by the entire panel of judges (minus a couple exceptions due to recusal), the Ninth Circuit case will be decided by a three-judge panel. All three judges were appointed by President Bill Clinton.
The Ninth Circuit previously ruled against President Trump’s first attempted at a travel ban.
If either the Ninth Circuit or the Fourth Circuit uphold their jurisdiction’s nationwide ban, that executive order will continue to be blocked. Should the two Courts of Appeals rule differently, the issue would likely end up before the Supreme Court. Given the significance of the orders, however, the Supreme Court may decide to hear the case no matter what.
[Image via screengrab]