[zeestephen]

Another problem with the ruling that no one mentions is that Trump’s case, which is based on a Conservative interpretation of the Constitution, was prepared by employees of the U.S. Department of Justice who are overwhelmingly Leftist.

I don’t know anything about the lead DOJ attorney, maybe he is actually a Conservative.

But a great general has very little value if his troops refuse to fight.

Two things jump out at me about the two appeals.

(1) The issue of “standing,” which is of paramount importance in federal cases, was never even discussed by the DOJ attorneys.

(2) The statute that outlines the president’s immigration powers could not be more clear. But, the DOJ attorneys never even asked the appellate judges what Constitutional principles were violated by the Executive Order.

[AustinBill]

The biggest problem with the brief was the claim that presidential powers in this area are "unreviewable". That's a direct poke in the eye to any judge reading such a brief and shows sloppy preparation on the part of the attorneys who wrote it. No judge is doing to agree with that assertion--it's just human nature regardless of ideology.

Given that there were stronger arguments to advance, I question if this was a rookie error on the part of a new administration or if holdover DoJ staffers intentionally "salted" the brief with this indigestible bit knowing it would provoke a rejection.