State of Hawaii v. Trump

Filing 233

MOTION for Leave to File a Brief Amicus Curiae, Raising Political Question Nonjusticiability, from Professor Victor Williams of the America First Lawyers Association, in Support of President Donald J. Trump - by Amicus Victor Williams. (Attachments: # 1 Transmittal Letter dated March 13, 2017) (emt, )

ORIGINAL
Victor Williams,
FH-ED IN THE
LIMITED STATES DISTRICT CCXIRT

Appearing Pro Se

DISTRICT OF HAWA#

^MAR 16 2017
at

o'clock and

SUE BEITIA", cleriT"

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America First Lawyers Association
www,
americafirstlawvers
.com

5209 Baltimore Ave,

Bethesda, MD 20816

[phone]
[e-mail]

UNITED STATES DISRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII

STATE OF HAWAIT,

ISMAEL EISmKH,et al
Plaintiffs

No. 17 cv 005(DKW/KJM)

V.

DONALD J. TRUMP,et al
Defendants

MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE,

I^ISING POLITICAL QUESTION NONJUSTICIABILITY,
FROM PROFESSOR VICTOR WILLIAMS OF

THE AMERICA FIRST LAWYERS ASSOCATION,
IN SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

Plaintiffs have consented to, and Defendants do not oppose,the attached

Motion respectfully seeking leave ofthe Court to file this amicus curiae brief.
Comes now Professor Victor Williams seeking leave ofthe Court to file an omicus

brief(attached)in support ofthe Defendants respectfully asserting that this Court
does not have subject matter jurisdiction in this matter as the case presents a
nonjusticiable political question.

The proposed brief has unique information and perspective that can help the
Court beyond the help that the lawyers for the parties have thus far provided.

Prospective Amicus asks this Court to exercise its inherent authority to allow the
filing.

STATEMENT OF IDENTITY,INTEREST
AND AUTHORITY OF AMICUS

Plaintiffs have consented to, and Defendants do not oppose,the attached

Motion respectfully seeking leave ofthe Court to file this amicus curiae brief.
Appealing to the Court's broad discretion to allow such a filing, Amicus avers his
significant interest in this case and suggests that the proffered brief will be of
unique assistance to the Court. Professor Victor Williams is a Washington, D.C.
attorney and law professor with over twenty years' experience ~ formerly

affiliated as fulltime faculty with both the Catholic University of America's

Columbus School ofLaw and the City University of New York's John Jay College
of Criminal Justice. Professor Williams has particular knowledge and expertise
regarding the text, history, and interpretation of Article II and Article III ofthe
U.S. Constitution with many scholarly and popular publications. He earned his
J.D. from the University of California-Hastings College ofthe Law. After

completing an extemship with both Ninth Circuit Judge Joseph Sneed and
Eleventh Circuit Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat and a two-year clerkship with Judge
Brevard Hand ofthe Southern District of Alabama, Williams did advanced training

in federal jurisdiction and international law(LL.M.)from Columbia University's
School ofLaw and in economic analysis ofthe law (LL.M.)from George Mason
University's Scalia School ofLaw.

In past. Professor Victor Williams has been granted leave to file amicus

briefs in other lower courts as well as by the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor
Williams has published scholarship and commentary that offered strong support
for the constitutional discretion and prerogatives ofthe past four presidents

(without regard to their party affiliation). Professor Williams zealously advocated
for timely Senate confirmation ofthe judicial and executive nominees of both
George W.Bush and Barack Obama. Although these past presidents often pursued

policy ends at odds with Professor Williams' personal policy preferences, he
continued to defend their constitutional authority.

But now,Professor Williams' acknowledges that his ultimate policy

preference to always "put America first" is clearly reflected in President Trump's
agenda and early actions. Williams was an early primary supporter of candidate
Donald Trump. In spring 2016, Williams launched a widely-reported legal action,
after obtaining "competitor candidate standing" as a write-in candidate in several

late primary states, to challenge the ballot eligibility of(naturally-bom Canadian)
Ted Cruz.(www.victorwilliamsforpresident.comT See e.g., Debra Weiss, Law

Profa Write-in GOP Candidate to Challenge Ted Cruz Eligibility, ABA JOURNAL,
April 11,2016,

http://www.abaioumal.coni/news/article/law prof enters gop presidential race t
o challenge ted cmzs eligibility/ and Pete Williams,Law Professor Challenges
Cruz on Citizenship, Candidacy, NBC News,April 11, 2016,

http://www.nbcnews.coni/news/us-news/law-professor-candidate-challenges-cruzcitizenship-n554046.

After Senator Cruz withdrew from the GOP primary,Professor Williams

also withdrew from the primary race, formerly endorsed Donald Trump, and
founded Super PAC(GOP Lawyers)rallying Lawyers and Law Professors
(www.goplawvers.comI to support Donald Trump in the general election. See

Victor Williams, Trump Will Bring Return to Rule ofLaw and Economic Growth,
The Hill, Nov. 6,2016. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/Dresidential-

campaign/304291-trump-will-bring-retum-to-rule-of-law-and-economic ,Victor

Williams,Law Professor Now Proudly in Basket ofDeplorables, THE HiLL, Sept.
20,2016, http://thehill.com/blogs/pimdits-blog/presidential-campaign/296783-lawprof-once-an-obama-supporter-now-in-basket-of, and Inside the Beltway:'Lawyers
for Trump'Founded" WASH.TIMES, July 4, 2016.

The campaign group has now transformed into the "America First Lawyers
Association"(www.americafirstlawyers.com) which Professor Williams chairs, to

advance the Trump administration's "America first" nominations, policies, and
programs. See e.g. Victor Williams,B.C. Law Professor Makes Casefor Sessions'
Senate Confirmation, STREET INSIDER, Jan. 9, 2017,
http://markets.financialcontent.coni/streetinsider/news/read/33555004

UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION OF THE AMICUS BREIF

Prospective Amicus offers that the proffered brief will make a valuable

contribution to the existing briefing in this case as it presents an alternatively

focused theory asserting that the claims against the president's January 27,2017
executive order raise a nonjusticiable political question.

Amicus respectfully argues that the Court does not have subject matter

jurisdiction in this matter. And Amicus further respectfully suggests that this
Court has an obligation to examine this subject matter deficiency, in full, before
proceeding further in this adjudication.

Ifa case presents a political question, the judiciary lacks subject matter

jurisdiction to decide that question. See Victor Williams, Travel Ban Challenges
Present a Non-Reviewable Political Question, JURIST - Forum,Feb.15, 2017.

http://iurist.org/forum/2017/02Wictor-Williams-travel-ban.php

There are no judicially manageable standards by which the Court can
endeavor to assess the President's interpretation of classified and military

intelligence and his resulting decision—^based on that intelligence—^whether to
restrict entry offoreign-soil aliens visiting from certain terrorist-breeding nations.

The Court's inquiry is thus barred by the patent political question, and any
assertion by that such inquiry is necessary to a second-order statutory analysis

would not make the inquiry or the first-order controversy justiciable. El-Shifa v.
United States, 607F3d 836(D.C. Cir. 2010){en band).

But both technical and prudential understandings ofthe political question
doctrine require this Court to reject review ofthis matter.
Submitted on March 13,2017

IS,

fog Pro Se
America First Lawyers Association
www.americafirstlawvers.com

5209 Baltimore"Ave,
Bethesda, MD 20816

[phone]
americafirstlawvers@,gmail.com
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on March 13, 2017,the foregoing motion with proposed brief
was filed with the Clerk ofthis Court using the U.S. Mail(as pro se prospective
Amicus is not a registered ECF user) and served on parties by electronic
transmission using their email address registered with the ECF account.

/sA^ctor.Willi

o se

America First Lawyers Association
www.americafirstlawvers.com

5209 Baltimore Ave,
Bethesda, MD 20816

[phone]
/[e-mail]