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Court Rejects Travel Ban; Supreme Court Battle Imminent

<p>The nation erupted into protest last month when Trump signed an executive order banning visa holders and refugees traveling from seven Muslim nations&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Supporters view the ban as a necessary tactic in fighting terrorism&comma; but opponents argue that it&nbsp&semi;violates equal-protection and due process rights and defies the First Amendment&rsquo&semi;s prohibition of favoring one religion over another&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchingbagpost&period;com&sol;court-rejects-trump-travel-ban---appeal-delayed&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener"><strong>As I wrote last week<&sol;strong><&sol;a>&comma; the Justice Department filed an appeal after a Seattle judge issued a temporary nationwide restraining order on the travel ban&period; This week&comma; the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit unanimously voted to reject Trump&rsquo&semi;s request to reinstate the travel ban&period; &nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The San Francisco-based court decided that the restraining order against the ban would remain in effect while a federal judge reviews a lawsuit on the policy&period; &nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&ldquo&semi;We hold that the government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal&comma; nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury&comma; and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay&comma;&&num;8221&semi; stated the court&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The three-judge panel &ldquo&semi;forcefully asserted the judiciary&rsquo&semi;s independent authority to act as a check on executive power&comma;&rdquo&semi; reports <em>The Hill&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The hearing&comma; which focused on whether the travel ban should stay in effect while courts consider the policy&rsquo&semi;s lawfulness&comma; involved Jimmy Carter appointee William C&period; Canby&comma; Barack Obama appointee Michelle T&period; Friedland&comma; and George W&period; Bush appointee Richard R&period; Clifton&period; &nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The court&&num;8217&semi;s decision means that refugees and visa holders from the seven Muslim nations specified in the Jan&period; 27th order will be allowed to enter the US under normal procedures&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The judges delivered a scathing rebuke of Trump&rsquo&semi;s arguments alongside the ruling&comma; insisting that the ban would cause &ldquo&semi;irreparable injury&rdquo&semi; if left intact and noting that the administration had failed to provide evidence that any illegal immigrants from the seven nations named in the ban had been involved in a terrorist attack in the US&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The executive action &ldquo&semi;runs contrary to the fundamental structure of our constitutional democracy&comma;&rdquo&semi; wrote the judges&period; &ldquo&semi;Rather than present evidence to explain the need for the Executive Order&comma; the Government has taken the position that we must not review its decision at all&period; We disagree&period;&rdquo&semi;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Justice Department lawyer August Flentje agues that President Trump&rsquo&semi;s opinion alone should be enough to justify the ban&period; Blocking the order &ldquo&semi;overrides the President&rsquo&semi;s national-security judgment about the level of risk&comma;&&num;8221&semi; he said&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton &lpar;R&rpar; slammed the 9th Circuit as the &ldquo&semi;most notoriously left-wing court&&num;8221&semi; in the nation&period; &ldquo&semi;No foreigner has a constitutional right to enter the United States and courts ought not second-guess sensitive national-security decisions of the president&comma;&rdquo&semi; he said&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Legal experts believe the case will be appealed to the Supreme Court&comma; which remains one judge short following the surprise death of Antonin Scalia last February&period; A 4-4 tie would leave the 9th Circuit&rsquo&semi;s ruling in place&period; &nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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