USA v. State of Arizona, et al

Filing 155

Filed (ECF) Appellee USA response to motion (,motion for miscellaneous relief (to be used only if no other relief applies)). Date of service: 10/15/2010. [7510505] (TMB)

USA v. State of Arizona, et al

Doc. 155

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STATE OF ARIZONA, et al., Defendants-Appellants. No. 10-16645

UNITED STATES' OPPOSITION TO AMICI CURIAE FRIENDLY HOUSE PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO PARTICIPATE IN ORAL ARGUMENT The United States respectfully opposes the request by amici curiae Friendly House Plaintiffs to participate in oral argument on November 1. The United States has no objection to the participation of the Friendly House Plaintiffs as amici in this matter; the United States expressly consented to their filing of an amicus brief in this Court. Indeed, numerous persons have filed amicus briefs on both sides of this appeal, and the United States gave consent to all amici on either side that sought its consent to file a brief, and has filed no opposition to any motion to file an amicus brief here. Allowing amici to participate at oral argument, however, would necessarily distract from the central issues in this case, and would needlessly consume oral

Dockets.Justia.com

argument time. If this Court were to grant these amici's motion, it is unclear on what basis similar requests by other amici to participate in oral argument could be denied. Given the limited time available for oral argument, oral argument time cannot realistically be divided among the parties and the potentially substantial number of amici who might wish to participate in their support. Considered on its own terms, amici's motion also demonstrates why the request for argument time should be denied. As the motion notes, the district court found that plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction against S.B. 1070 was moot in light of the preliminary injunction entered in this case. It is unclear on what basis amici's interest in obtaining an injunction against S.B. 1070 meaningfully differs from the United States's interest in defending the present injunction. The motion also refers to a possible Fourth Amendment issue that was part of the Friendly House case but is not a part of this case. As the motion expressly recognizes, that issue is not present in this appeal, and amici disclaim any intention to address the issue if they were to participate in oral argument. See Motion at 2 n.2.

-2-

CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, amici Friendly House Plaintiffs' motion to participate in oral argument should be denied. Respectfully submitted, TONY WEST Assistant Attorney General DENNIS K. BURKE United States Attorney s/ Thomas M. Bondy MARK B. STERN THOMAS M. BONDY MICHAEL P. ABATE DANIEL TENNY [phone] Attorneys, Appellate Staff Civil Division, Room 7535 Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 OCTOBER 2010

-3-

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I filed the foregoing with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by using the Court's Appellate CM/ECF system on October 15, 2010. Participants in the case are registered CM/ECF users and service will be accomplished by the appellate CM/ECF system.

s/ Thomas M. Bondy Thomas M. Bondy