Appeals court blocks further construction on Trump border wall

The Hill ^ | 10/10/20 | CELINE CASTRONUOVO

[BeauBo]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that President Trump’s use of emergency powers to allocate millions of dollars in funding for the construction of a southern border wall was illegal, the latest blow to the Trump administration’s effort to limit immigration.

In the 2-1 decision, the court upheld a December 2019 district court summary judgment in favor of a request from the advocacy groups the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition against Defense Secretary Mark Esper, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and “all persons acting under their direction ... from using military construction funds appropriated for other purposes to build a border wall.”

[kiryandil]

"Decision":

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/10/09/19-17501.pdf

The Usual Suspects:

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. [Odiousbama judge], District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted March 10, 2020

San Francisco, California

BEFORE: Sidney R. THOMAS [RapinBill judge], Chief Judge, and 
Kim McLane WARDLAW [RapinBill judge] and 
Daniel P. COLLINS [Trump judge - the dissenter], Circuit Judges

Opinion by Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas;
Dissent by Judge Collins

[BeauBo]

“I thought that this had already been decided by the courts”

There have been a series of lawsuits, by different parties, on different grounds, to halt border wall construction.

The common theme is a District Court, or a Circuit Court, attempting to veto the President’s actions with an immediate effect.

The Supreme Court has twice ruled that such injunctions will NOT go into immediate effect, until all appeals are exhausted, and any ruling is final. So they are likely to quickly suspend this injunction as well.

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the merits of any of those cases yet - maybe this term.

[kiryandil]

Here's the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [as of January 2, 2020]:

Judges:	          29
Circuit Justice:  Elena Kagan
Chief Judge:	  Sidney R. Thomas
en banc panel:    11 judges

Next Chief Judge: Mary H. Murguia? 2021?
==================
Age	Title	Judge	                        Duty station	Born	Term of service	                Appointed by
66	Chief Judge	Sidney R. Thomas	Billings, MT	1953	1996–present      &2014–present	Clinton
70	Circuit Judge	Susan P. Graber	        Portland, OR	1949	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
68	Circuit Judge	M. Margaret McKeown	San Diego, CA	1951	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
65	Circuit Judge	Kim McLane Wardlaw	Pasadena, CA	1954	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
74	Circuit Judge	William A. Fletcher	San Francisco	1945	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
73	Circuit Judge	Ronald M. Gould	        Seattle, WA	1946	1999–present	—	—	Clinton
72	Circuit Judge	Richard Paez	        Pasadena, CA	1947	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
74	Circuit Judge	Marsha S. Berzon	San Francisco	1945	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
67	Circuit Judge	Johnnie B. Rawlinson	Las Vegas, NV	1952	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
69	Circuit Judge	Consuelo Callahan	Sacramento, CA	1950	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
77	Circuit Judge	Milan Smith	        El Segundo, CA	1942	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
65	Circuit Judge	Sandra Segal Ikuta   *	Pasadena, CA	1954	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
59	Circuit Judge	Mary H. Murguia	        Phoenix, AZ	1960	2011–present	—	—	Obama
58	Circuit Judge	Morgan Christen	        Anchorage, AK	1961	2012–present	—	—	Obama
54	Circuit Judge	Jacqueline Nguyen	Pasadena, CA	1965	2012–present	—	—	Obama
52	Circuit Judge	Paul J. Watford	        Pasadena, CA	1967	2012–present	—	—	Obama
72	Circuit Judge	Andrew D. Hurwitz	Phoenix, AZ	1947	2012–present	—	—	Obama
48	Circuit Judge	John B. Owens	        San Diego, CA	1971	2014–present	—	—	Obama
47	Circuit Judge	Michelle Friedland	San Jose, CA	1972	2014–present	—	—	Obama
66	Circuit Judge	Mark J. Bennett	     *  Honolulu, HI	1953	2018–present	—	—	Trump
46	Circuit Judge	Ryan D. Nelson	     *  Idaho Falls, ID	1973	2018–present	—	—	Trump
44	Circuit Judge	Eric D. Miller       *	Seattle, WA	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
54	Circuit Judge	Bridget Shelton Bade	Phoenix, AZ	1965	2019–present	—	—	Trump
56	Circuit Judge	Daniel P. Collins    *	Pasadena, CA	1963	2019–present	—	—	Trump
44	Circuit Judge	Kenneth K. Lee	     *  San Diego, CA	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
40	Circuit Judge	Daniel Aaron Bress   *	San Francisco	1979	2019–present	—	—	Trump
42	Circuit Judge	Danielle J. Hunsaker *	Portland, OR	1977	2019–present	—	—	Trump
41	Circuit Judge	Patrick J. Bumatay   *	San Diego, CA	1978	beg. 2019	—	—	Trump
47	Circuit Judge	Lawrence VanDyke     * 	Reno, NV	1972	beg. 2020	—	—	Trump

=========================
96	Senior Circuit 	Alfred Goodwin	        Pasadena, CA	1923	1971–1991 	1991–present	Nixon   &1988–1991
91	Senior Circuit 	John Clifford Wallace	San Diego, CA	1928	1972–1996 	1996–present	Nixon   &1991–1996
79	Senior Circuit 	Mary M. Schroeder	Phoenix, AZ	1940	1979–2011 	2011–present	Carter  &2000–2007
89	Senior Circuit 	Joseph Jerome Farris	Seattle, WA	1930	1979–1995	1995–present	Carter
91	Senior Circuit 	Dorothy Wright Nelson	Pasadena, CA	1928	1979–1995	1995–present	Carter
88	Senior Circuit 	William Canby	        Phoenix, AZ	1931	1980–1996	1996–present	Carter
82	Senior Circuit 	Diarmuid O'Scannlain	Portland, OR	1937	1986–2016	2016–present	Reagan
90	Senior Circuit 	Edward Leavy	        Portland, OR	1929	1987–1997	1997–present	Reagan
80	Senior Circuit 	Stephen S. Trott	Boise, ID	1939	1988–2004	2005–present	Reagan
82	Senior Circuit 	Ferdinand Fernandez	Pasadena, CA	1937	1989–2002	2002–present	G.H.W. Bush
74	Senior Circuit 	Andrew Kleinfeld	Fairbanks, AK	1945	1991–2010	2010–present	G.H.W. Bush
74	Senior Circuit 	Michael Daly Hawkins	Phoenix, AZ	1945	1994–2010	2010–present	Clinton
85	Senior Circuit 	A. Wallace Tashima	Pasadena, CA	1934	1996–2004	2004–present	Clinton
68	Senior Circuit 	Barry G. Silverman	Phoenix, AZ	1951	1998–2016	2016–present	Clinton
80	Senior Circuit 	Raymond C. Fisher	Pasadena, CA	1939	1999–2013	2013–present	Clinton
66	Senior Circuit 	Richard C. Tallman	Coeur d'Alene	1953	2000–2018	2018–present	Clinton
69	Senior Circuit 	Richard Clifton	        Honolulu, HI	1950	2002–2016	2016–present	G.W. Bush
66	Senior Circuit	Jay Bybee	        Las Vegas, NV	1953	2003–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
85	Senior Circuit	Carlos Bea	        San Francisco	1934	2003–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
70	Senior Circuit 	N. Randy Smith	        Pocatello, ID	1949	2007–2018	2018–present	G.W. Bush

& denotes Chief Judge of the Court
* denotes Federalist Society member

Judges:	          29
Circuit Justice:  Elena Kagan
Chief Judge:	  Sidney R. Thomas
en banc panel:    11 judges

Next Chief Judge: Mary H. Murguia? 2021?
==================
Age	Title	Judge	                        Duty station	Born	Term of service	                Appointed by
66	Chief Judge	Sidney R. Thomas	Billings, MT	1953	1996–present      &2014–present	Clinton
70	Circuit Judge	Susan P. Graber	        Portland, OR	1949	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
68	Circuit Judge	M. Margaret McKeown	San Diego, CA	1951	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
65	Circuit Judge	Kim McLane Wardlaw	Pasadena, CA	1954	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
74	Circuit Judge	William A. Fletcher	San Francisco	1945	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
73	Circuit Judge	Ronald M. Gould	        Seattle, WA	1946	1999–present	—	—	Clinton
72	Circuit Judge	Richard Paez	        Pasadena, CA	1947	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
74	Circuit Judge	Marsha S. Berzon	San Francisco	1945	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
67	Circuit Judge	Johnnie B. Rawlinson	Las Vegas, NV	1952	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
69	Circuit Judge	Consuelo Callahan	Sacramento, CA	1950	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
77	Circuit Judge	Milan Smith	        El Segundo, CA	1942	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
65	Circuit Judge	Sandra Segal Ikuta   *	Pasadena, CA	1954	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
59	Circuit Judge	Mary H. Murguia	        Phoenix, AZ	1960	2011–present	—	—	Obama
58	Circuit Judge	Morgan Christen	        Anchorage, AK	1961	2012–present	—	—	Obama
54	Circuit Judge	Jacqueline Nguyen	Pasadena, CA	1965	2012–present	—	—	Obama
52	Circuit Judge	Paul J. Watford	        Pasadena, CA	1967	2012–present	—	—	Obama
72	Circuit Judge	Andrew D. Hurwitz	Phoenix, AZ	1947	2012–present	—	—	Obama
48	Circuit Judge	John B. Owens	        San Diego, CA	1971	2014–present	—	—	Obama
47	Circuit Judge	Michelle Friedland	San Jose, CA	1972	2014–present	—	—	Obama
66	Circuit Judge	Mark J. Bennett	     *  Honolulu, HI	1953	2018–present	—	—	Trump
46	Circuit Judge	Ryan D. Nelson	     *  Idaho Falls, ID	1973	2018–present	—	—	Trump
44	Circuit Judge	Eric D. Miller       *	Seattle, WA	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
54	Circuit Judge	Bridget Shelton Bade	Phoenix, AZ	1965	2019–present	—	—	Trump
56	Circuit Judge	Daniel P. Collins    *	Pasadena, CA	1963	2019–present	—	—	Trump
44	Circuit Judge	Kenneth K. Lee	     *  San Diego, CA	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
40	Circuit Judge	Daniel Aaron Bress   *	San Francisco	1979	2019–present	—	—	Trump
42	Circuit Judge	Danielle J. Hunsaker *	Portland, OR	1977	2019–present	—	—	Trump
41	Circuit Judge	Patrick J. Bumatay   *	San Diego, CA	1978	beg. 2019	—	—	Trump
47	Circuit Judge	Lawrence VanDyke     * 	Reno, NV	1972	beg. 2020	—	—	Trump

=========================
96	Senior Circuit 	Alfred Goodwin	        Pasadena, CA	1923	1971–1991 	1991–present	Nixon   &1988–1991
91	Senior Circuit 	John Clifford Wallace	San Diego, CA	1928	1972–1996 	1996–present	Nixon   &1991–1996
79	Senior Circuit 	Mary M. Schroeder	Phoenix, AZ	1940	1979–2011 	2011–present	Carter  &2000–2007
89	Senior Circuit 	Joseph Jerome Farris	Seattle, WA	1930	1979–1995	1995–present	Carter
91	Senior Circuit 	Dorothy Wright Nelson	Pasadena, CA	1928	1979–1995	1995–present	Carter
88	Senior Circuit 	William Canby	        Phoenix, AZ	1931	1980–1996	1996–present	Carter
82	Senior Circuit 	Diarmuid O'Scannlain	Portland, OR	1937	1986–2016	2016–present	Reagan
90	Senior Circuit 	Edward Leavy	        Portland, OR	1929	1987–1997	1997–present	Reagan
80	Senior Circuit 	Stephen S. Trott	Boise, ID	1939	1988–2004	2005–present	Reagan
82	Senior Circuit 	Ferdinand Fernandez	Pasadena, CA	1937	1989–2002	2002–present	G.H.W. Bush
74	Senior Circuit 	Andrew Kleinfeld	Fairbanks, AK	1945	1991–2010	2010–present	G.H.W. Bush
74	Senior Circuit 	Michael Daly Hawkins	Phoenix, AZ	1945	1994–2010	2010–present	Clinton
85	Senior Circuit 	A. Wallace Tashima	Pasadena, CA	1934	1996–2004	2004–present	Clinton
68	Senior Circuit 	Barry G. Silverman	Phoenix, AZ	1951	1998–2016	2016–present	Clinton
80	Senior Circuit 	Raymond C. Fisher	Pasadena, CA	1939	1999–2013	2013–present	Clinton
66	Senior Circuit 	Richard C. Tallman	Coeur d'Alene	1953	2000–2018	2018–present	Clinton
69	Senior Circuit 	Richard Clifton	        Honolulu, HI	1950	2002–2016	2016–present	G.W. Bush
66	Senior Circuit	Jay Bybee	        Las Vegas, NV	1953	2003–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
85	Senior Circuit	Carlos Bea	        San Francisco	1934	2003–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
70	Senior Circuit 	N. Randy Smith	        Pocatello, ID	1949	2007–2018	2018–present	G.W. Bush

Judges:	          29
Circuit Justice:  Elena Kagan
Chief Judge:	  Sidney R. Thomas
en banc panel:    11 judges

Next Chief Judge: Mary H. Murguia? 2021?
==================
Age	Title	Judge	                        Duty station	Born	Term of service	                Appointed by
66	Chief Judge	Sidney R. Thomas	Billings, MT	1953	1996–present      &2014–present	Clinton
70	Circuit Judge	Susan P. Graber	        Portland, OR	1949	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
68	Circuit Judge	M. Margaret McKeown	San Diego, CA	1951	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
65	Circuit Judge	Kim McLane Wardlaw	Pasadena, CA	1954	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
74	Circuit Judge	William A. Fletcher	San Francisco	1945	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
73	Circuit Judge	Ronald M. Gould	        Seattle, WA	1946	1999–present	—	—	Clinton
72	Circuit Judge	Richard Paez	        Pasadena, CA	1947	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
74	Circuit Judge	Marsha S. Berzon	San Francisco	1945	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
67	Circuit Judge	Johnnie B. Rawlinson	Las Vegas, NV	1952	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
69	Circuit Judge	Consuelo Callahan	Sacramento, CA	1950	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
77	Circuit Judge	Milan Smith	        El Segundo, CA	1942	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
65	Circuit Judge	Sandra Segal Ikuta   *	Pasadena, CA	1954	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
59	Circuit Judge	Mary H. Murguia	        Phoenix, AZ	1960	2011–present	—	—	Obama
58	Circuit Judge	Morgan Christen	        Anchorage, AK	1961	2012–present	—	—	Obama
54	Circuit Judge	Jacqueline Nguyen	Pasadena, CA	1965	2012–present	—	—	Obama
52	Circuit Judge	Paul J. Watford	        Pasadena, CA	1967	2012–present	—	—	Obama
72	Circuit Judge	Andrew D. Hurwitz	Phoenix, AZ	1947	2012–present	—	—	Obama
48	Circuit Judge	John B. Owens	        San Diego, CA	1971	2014–present	—	—	Obama
47	Circuit Judge	Michelle Friedland	San Jose, CA	1972	2014–present	—	—	Obama
66	Circuit Judge	Mark J. Bennett	     *  Honolulu, HI	1953	2018–present	—	—	Trump
46	Circuit Judge	Ryan D. Nelson	     *  Idaho Falls, ID	1973	2018–present	—	—	Trump
44	Circuit Judge	Eric D. Miller       *	Seattle, WA	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
54	Circuit Judge	Bridget Shelton Bade	Phoenix, AZ	1965	2019–present	—	—	Trump
56	Circuit Judge	Daniel P. Collins    *	Pasadena, CA	1963	2019–present	—	—	Trump
44	Circuit Judge	Kenneth K. Lee	     *  San Diego, CA	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
40	Circuit Judge	Daniel Aaron Bress   *	San Francisco	1979	2019–present	—	—	Trump
42	Circuit Judge	Danielle J. Hunsaker *	Portland, OR	1977	2019–present	—	—	Trump
41	Circuit Judge	Patrick J. Bumatay   *	San Diego, CA	1978	beg. 2019	—	—	Trump
47	Circuit Judge	Lawrence VanDyke     * 	Reno, NV	1972	beg. 2020	—	—	Trump

=========================
96	Senior Circuit 	Alfred Goodwin	        Pasadena, CA	1923	1971–1991 	1991–present	Nixon   &1988–1991
91	Senior Circuit 	John Clifford Wallace	San Diego, CA	1928	1972–1996 	1996–present	Nixon   &1991–1996
79	Senior Circuit 	Mary M. Schroeder	Phoenix, AZ	1940	1979–2011 	2011–present	Carter  &2000–2007
89	Senior Circuit 	Joseph Jerome Farris	Seattle, WA	1930	1979–1995	1995–present	Carter
91	Senior Circuit 	Dorothy Wright Nelson	Pasadena, CA	1928	1979–1995	1995–present	Carter
88	Senior Circuit 	William Canby	        Phoenix, AZ	1931	1980–1996	1996–present	Carter
82	Senior Circuit 	Diarmuid O'Scannlain	Portland, OR	1937	1986–2016	2016–present	Reagan
90	Senior Circuit 	Edward Leavy	        Portland, OR	1929	1987–1997	1997–present	Reagan
80	Senior Circuit 	Stephen S. Trott	Boise, ID	1939	1988–2004	2005–present	Reagan
82	Senior Circuit 	Ferdinand Fernandez	Pasadena, CA	1937	1989–2002	2002–present	G.H.W. Bush
74	Senior Circuit 	Andrew Kleinfeld	Fairbanks, AK	1945	1991–2010	2010–present	G.H.W. Bush
74	Senior Circuit 	Michael Daly Hawkins	Phoenix, AZ	1945	1994–2010	2010–present	Clinton
85	Senior Circuit 	A. Wallace Tashima	Pasadena, CA	1934	1996–2004	2004–present	Clinton
68	Senior Circuit 	Barry G. Silverman	Phoenix, AZ	1951	1998–2016	2016–present	Clinton
80	Senior Circuit 	Raymond C. Fisher	Pasadena, CA	1939	1999–2013	2013–present	Clinton
66	Senior Circuit 	Richard C. Tallman	Coeur d'Alene	1953	2000–2018	2018–present	Clinton
69	Senior Circuit 	Richard Clifton	        Honolulu, HI	1950	2002–2016	2016–present	G.W. Bush
66	Senior Circuit	Jay Bybee	        Las Vegas, NV	1953	2003–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
85	Senior Circuit	Carlos Bea	        San Francisco	1934	2003–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
70	Senior Circuit 	N. Randy Smith	        Pocatello, ID	1949	2007–2018	2018–present	G.W. Bush

[kiryandil]

There have been a series of lawsuits, by different parties, on different grounds, to halt border wall construction.

The common theme is a District Court, or a Circuit Court, attempting to veto the President’s actions with an immediate effect.

The Supreme Court has twice ruled that such injunctions will NOT go into immediate effect, until all appeals are exhausted, and any ruling is final. So they are likely to quickly suspend this injunction as well.

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the merits of any of those cases yet - maybe this term.

Excellent observation.

[Revel]

OK thanks.

[glasseye]

More treachery from the partisans in the fetid black robes.
Zero respect given...

[Blood of Tyrants]

Hasn’t this already been litigated?

[Vendome]

the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition are admitting the wall is being built?

Irony

[BlueLancer]

An appeal to the full 9th court comes next ... may overturn the three-judge panel.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

“They’ve made their ruling. Now let them enforce it.”

[Bikkuri]

"I don’t think it’s still in the 9th Circuit jurisdiction is it?"

I thought the SC ruled on it about a year ago.. ?

[SmokingJoe]

The United States Supreme Court has ALREADY ruled that the funds can be used to build the wall. The 9th Circuit is simply blowing wind from their nether regions. This ruling can safely be ignored.

[House Atreides]

“This has already been settled by SCOTUS, and the 9th circuit can take a flying leap/“
*****************************************************************
I thought so also. But in this 3-JUDGE PANEL, two judges (both Clinton appointees) decided it hadn’t been settled. The 3rd judge (a Trump appointee) dissented and apparently remembered the earlier decision that is was OK.

[EC Washington]

Ignore the court order - force in to the Supreme’s

[SmokingJoe]

The Supremes have already ruled on this over a year ago. That's why the construction of the border wall has been going on like crazy for over a year. This “ruling” from the 9th circuit will not have any effect.

[Mount Athos]

if I remember correctly, the 9th circuit can decide to review this case themselves by having all the judges vote instead of only 3. It requires a certain number of them to call for a full panel vote

[FormerFRLurker]

Use the KungFlu money. Just say the wall prevents the spread of the disease.

Not sure that would work, given that Mexico only has 6,262 cases per million to the US's 23,908 cases per million. You'd have to say it's an act of humanitarian aid to Mexico to protect them from the disease-carrying gringos.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

[DoughtyOne]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that
President Trump’s use of emergency powers to allocate
millions of dollars in funding for the construction of a
southern border wall was illegal, the latest blow to the
Trump administration’s effort to limit immigration.

1. There haven't been any successful blows to halting
the wall

2. This IS NOT an effort to limit immigration. That's a
bald faced lie!

It is focused on stopping the occupation of the United
states by people (illegal alien foreign nationals) crashing
our border and occupying sovereign United States soil.

[jmaroneps37]

Another fart in the wind from the desperate left.

[BeauBo]

There have been a series of lawsuits, by different parties, on different grounds, to halt border wall construction.
The common theme is a District Court, or a Circuit Court, attempting to veto the President’s actions with an immediate effect.

The Supreme Court has twice (July of both 2019 and 2020) ruled that such injunctions will NOT go into immediate effect to stop wall construction, until all appeals are exhausted, and any ruling is final. So they are likely to quickly suspend this injunction as well - if the full Ninth Circuit does not do so first.

There are cases based on the waiving of environmental laws, on the re-programming of Military funds to the Wall, and separately (including this case) on the use of Military Construction funds, under the authority of the National Emergencies Act.

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the merits of any of those cases yet - maybe this term. They all seem to be slam dunk wins for the Administration on the merits, unless they find some technicality.

The Chief Justice, and his Senate oversight, are sensitive to the issue of any one of the hundreds of appointed lower court judges, deciding to act as a veto on the elected President (like the now proverbial “Hawaiian Judge”, of “Muslim Ban” fame) - especially if motivated by political partisanship.

It is on the Supreme Court (Chief Justice) to rein in these excesses of the Judicial Branch. Since last year, they have been quick to stay these kinds of injunctions.