The Heckler’s Veto of Arizona’s Immigration Law

Hans von Spakovsky / April 11, 2011

It should come as no surprise to anyone that a panel of judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order today refusing to lift the stay issued by a federal district court against Arizona’s immigration law. After all, the Ninth Circuit is the most often overturned appeals court in the nation, full of judges who routinely issue results-driven opinions that flout the law and precedents issued by the Supreme Court.

We all knew the litigation over Arizona’s law, which requires police officers to check on the immigration status of individuals they have arrested or detained for some other violation if the officers have a reasonable suspicion the individuals are in the country illegally, would end up in the Supreme Court.  That Court overturns almost 90% of the Ninth Circuit’s opinions and one can almost always expect the Ninth Circuit to get the law wrong.

However, the dissent written by Judge Carlos Bea of the three-judge panel is well worth reading.  He points out the numerous fallacies and mistakes made by the two judges in the majority. (more…)