President Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries is in court on Tuesday, with a federal appeals court in San Francisco set to hear arguments starting at 3pm EST.
Listen to the arguments live here:
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear 30-minute arguments on whether to restore Trump's controversial executive order from U.S. Justice Department lawyers and opposing attorneys for the states of Minnesota and Washington. A number of legal briefs opposing the ban have also been filed with the court, including ones from former high-ranking U.S. national security officials and dozens of tech giants. Meanwhile, The Intercept reported Tuesday that "more than 150 former federal prosecutors have expressed their disapproval of Trump's overreach as well."
As the New York Times explains, "[t]he arguments will take place by telephone, probably because the judges and lawyers are scattered around the country."
The Times reports that "[t]he case will be heard by Judge William C. Canby Jr., who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter and is based in Phoenix; Judge Michelle T. Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama and is based in San Francisco; and Judge Richard R. Clifton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush and is based in Honolulu."
ABC News reports that "[t]he judges are expected to make a ruling...after they have heard oral arguments."
According to Reuters: "Appeals courts are generally leery of upending the status quo, which in this case is the lower court's suspension of the ban. The case is likely to go to the Supreme Court." Trump himself told a group of sheriffs on Tuesday that he would defend his order "through the system."
