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A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the most contested provisions of an Arizona immigration law passed last year will remain blocked from taking effect, handing the Obama administration a victory in its efforts to overturn the legislation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that put on hold key provisions of the Arizona law, which empowers police to question people whom they have a "reasonable suspicion" are illegal immigrants. The measure has triggered a fierce national debate, and the legal case is being watched by other states and advocates on both sides of the issue.
In a split decision, a three-judge panel found that U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton "did not abuse" her discretion in blocking parts of the law that, among other things, require police to check immigration status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws.
The court ruled only on Bolton's order, not on whether the Arizona measure is legal, and the Justice Department's move to have the law thrown out will proceed. But the judges gave strong indications that they accept the administration's argument that the legislation is unconstitutional and that they would rule that way in the end.
Of course, the Supreme Court, where this is headed, is another matter entirely, and there hardly seems to any doubt that Scalia et al. will side with Arizona, unless Kennedy breaks with the right and votes with the liberals against the authoritarian police state that so much of the country is becoming, particularly Arizona.
From
The New York Times:
AUSTIN, Texas — Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday after convictions for money laundering and conspiracy stemming from his role in a scheme to channel corporate contributions to Texas state races in 2002.
Mr. DeLay, once one of the most powerful and polemical Republican congressmen in the state’s history, was ushered out of Travis County Court after the sentencing and was taken by sheriff’s deputies to the county jail, where he was expected to post a $10,000 bond and be released pending an appeal.
After listening to Mr. DeLay say he felt he had done nothing wrong, Judge Pat Priest sentenced him to three years in prison for the conspiracy count and 10 years’ probation for the money laundering count. The judge rejected arguments from Mr. DeLay that the trial had been a politically motivated vendetta mounted by an overzealous Democratic District Attorney.
“Before there were Republicans and Democrats, there was America, and what America is about is the rule of law,” the judge said just before pronouncing the sentence.
