SIX weeks ago, when judges in Hawaii and Maryland blocked Donald Trump’s second attempt to limit travel from a handful of Muslim-majority countries, the 45th president said the rulings were made “for political reasons” and promised to appeal them “all the way to the Supreme Court”. Mr Trump’s refugee and travel ban may indeed wind up in the justices’ hands, including those of his newly installed jurist, Neil Gorsuch. But there are stops along the way at the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals. On May 8th, the entire 15-member Fourth Circuit court in Virginia will hear arguments in International Refugee Assistance Project v Trump; and on May 15th, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit court in California will hear an appeal in State of Hawaii v Trump. If the plaintiffs challenging the ban win either case, Mr Trump’s travel restrictions will remain stymied nationwide.
It seems the president faces an uphill battle in both tribunals: the Ninth Circuit is commonly described as the most liberal in America; and with six recent Barack Obama appointees, the Fourth Circuit is no...Continue reading
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