Screw that 9th Circuit appeal, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and her Sancho Panza, AG Tom Horne, are taking their fight to resurrect "The Best of SB 1070" directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne announced Monday that they will ask the nation's highest court to lift the injunction that has kept parts of Senate Bill 1070, the state's tough immigration law, from going into effect. Arizona Republic
Brewer signed SB 1070 in April 2010, but in July, just a day before the law was to take effect, Federal District Judge Susan Bolton enjoined several of the most egregious elements of the papers please legislation. Among the most controversial sections, which led the Feds to sue Arizona, was the requirement that police officers make a reasonable attempt to determine the citizenship status of every person detained or arrested [ARS § 11-1051(B)]. Agreeing with the Justice Department, Judge Bolton wrote:
"Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked." TucsonCitizen.com
Flash forward a year: This April Brewer's team argued before a three-person committee of the 9th Circuit that Judge Bolton's ruling should be overturned. On the other side of the aisle, the US Justice Department urged the appeals court to uphold Bolton's injunctions. The Feds won, the crazies lost, and shortly thereafter Brewer, Senator Russell Pearce, and AG Horne slunk back to Arizona, where they complained to the media, once again, that the Obama administration is "failing us at the border."
"We are a nation of laws [said Brewer] and we believe in the rule of law. And the bottom line is that federal government has not done their job ... we need to get this issue up to the Supreme Court, to get the injunction lifted as quickly as possible so that we can move forward ... in order to keep the safety and the welfare of the people of Arizona and America safe." Fox10.com
Yep, we are "a nation of laws" all right, which is why it's perfectly okay to circumvent the US Constitution to conduct your witch hunt. And the "federal government has not done their job," even when Obama has sent more patrols and resources to the border than his predecessor, even when crime is down along the border, even when most sheriffs who represent counties along the border do not support SB 1070.
Rather than appeal to the full 9th Circuit, Brewer and Horne have decided to skip them and go directly to the Supreme Court. As Arizona struggles to keep schools open and transplant patients alive, Brewer is willing to incur the cost of this court fight, which she acknowledges will be massive. To offset the State's responsibility, the Governor has established a legal fund that wingers can contribute to. So far they have about $4 million in the piggy bank.
Even if they can afford the court battle, with lots of money donated by Mexican bashers, the case will drain the state in other ways -- not the least is the national spotlight that will once again shine on our bigoted commonwealth. Shortly after SB 1070 was signed, state and local tourism offices reported huge losses, with more than $90 million in canceled conventions just in Phoenix. While the boycotts have died down somewhat, they could see new life if Brewer goes all Supremey on SB 1070. Worse yet is that the State has to file its Supreme Court appeal by July 11. We still don't know what MLB players, many of whom are Latino, are going to do about the July 12 All-Star Game in Phoenix. If Brewer and her goons ramp up the volume again right before the game, it may become another national black-eye.
Brewer's reason for appealing directly to the Supremes is clear: time, money, and outcome. It's likely a full 9th Circuit appeal would eat up more money, much more time, and end with the same result: a denial of Arizona's appeal. The 9th is known as one of the more liberal Courts, whereas with the Supremes Brewer and her gang are on fertile soil. Senator Pearce is already predicting a 5-4 or 6-3 vote in Arizona's favor.
This legislative session nearly 75 CEOs and other business leaders wrote a letter to Senator Pearce, asking him to cool it with the anti-immigrant bills, because all the hate-mongering wasn't good for their bottom line. To their credit, enough Republicans in the legislature listened, and they rejected many of Pearce's most outlandish policies. It seems like it's time for another letter.