Arizona Draws Difficult Panel for Immigration Appeal

Politico reports: It looks like the state of Arizona and Governor Jan Brewer could be facing an uphill battle in their effort to overturn a judge's ruling that the state's law cracking down on illegal immigration, SB 1070, is unconstitutional. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit announced the three judges assigned to the state's appeal, which is to be argued on Monday. They are: John Noonan, Richard Paez and Carlos Bea. Courtwatchers say the panel, which will convene at the court's headquarters in San Francisco, could be a tough one for Arizona. The state's law has been blasted as anti-Latino and likely to lead to racial profiling. Two of the three judges are of Hispanic descent: Paez was born in Utah of Mexican immigrant parents; Bea was born in Spain but grew up in Cuba before coming to the U.S. with his family. Paez, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, is considered part of the 9th Circuit's liberal wing. Paez is a former legal aid lawyer and district court judge who spent a record four years awaiting confirmation to the appeals court. Bea, an appointee of President George W. Bush, is viewed as a conservative on the appeals court. Bush's father also tried to nominate Bea to a district court judgeship in 1991, but he never came to a vote. Bea represented business and sometimes immigration clients in private practice before becoming a state court judge. "To my knowledge, I am the only circuit judge to have been ordered deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service," Bea declared during a 2006 Senate hearing. The judge said he got the INS's order overturned on appeal.