5th Circuit Court to Hear Appeal of Judge’s Executive-Amnesty Injunction

March 25, 2015

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hold a hearing on the Justice Department’s request to stay Judge Andrew Hanen’s temporary injunction in the case lodged by 26 governors and attorneys general against the Administration and its executive amnesties. The court also agreed to take up an expedited appeal of the merits of Judge Hanen’s injunctive order.

On April 17th the 5th Circuit will hear oral arguments on whether to stay Judge Hanen’s temporary injunction while an appeal of his ruling continues. That is considered unusual, according to one legal expert Politico interviewed. University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias told the Hill newspaper, “Those are almost always addressed just on the papers and very quickly….I guess they just see this as such a huge issue between states and administration they’re giving it full-dress treatment.”

The court also scheduled a number of deadlines for the merits appeal, which will examine the legal basis under which Judge Hanen issued the temporary injunction blocking all implementation of Obama’s executive amnesties. According to Politico, the schedule suggests that oral arguments could occur in late-May or June.

If the 5th Circuit agrees to stay Judge Hanen’s temporary injunction on April 17th, the Obama Administration will be free to continue to implement the president’s executive amnesties while the court considers the merits of Judge Hanen’s order. If the court later upholds Judge Hanen’s decision on the merits, the injunction could be re-instated in late-May or early June. Meanwhile, the case itself is still in Judge Hanen’s court, including the matter of whether Justice Department attorneys misled him. The 5th Circuit’s order directly noted the matters before it did not effect the matters still before Judge Hanen.

Responding to the 5th Circuit’s order, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the lead attorney in the states’ case, said “The rule of law is at the very heart of our case against President Obama’s lawless immigration action. We are a nation of laws, and we are proud to lead a bipartisan coalition of 26 states fighting this Administration’s unilateral and unconstitutional use of executive power. We will vigorously oppose the president’s illegal amnesty plan in court.”