Ever the foolish optimist, I noted in a comment to this Tatler article that before getting all feverish about the 9th Circuit decision on the Arizona immigration laws it would be a good idea to wait for the text.
The text of the 9th Circuit decision in United States v. State of Arizona has been published and is available on the internet. It is eighty-seven (single spaced) pages in length and thus far I have merely skimmed it.
Toward the end of the decision (at pages 49 – 87), there is a blistering partial concurrence but mainly dissent by Judge Bea. He quotes Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland twice on how words can mean whatever their masters wish and notes that
The majority misreads the meaning of the relevant federal statutes to ignore what is plain in the statutes—Congress intended state and local police officers to participate in the enforcement of federal immigration law. Sections 2 and 6 do not conflict with this intent, and thus are constitutional.
Judge Bea also takes umbrage at the majority’s elevation of complaints from foreign governments over the intent of congress.
Perhaps tomorrow or the next day I will read the full decision with greater care and submit something for publication.
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