North State Journal for Sunday, February 12, 2017
A3 David Pearce protests outside the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals courthouse in San Francisco, California on Feb. 7, ahead of the Court hearing arguments regarding President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslimmajority countries.
NOAH BERGER | REUTERS
Federal judges refuse to reinstate Trump travel order The decision is being called judicial overreach and sets up a Supreme Court showdown with eight members on the bench By Donna King North State Journal SAN FRANCISCO — Thursday evening a federal appeals court refused to reinstate President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning people from entering the U.S. from seven countries identified by the State Department as being “countries of concern” in the war on terrorism. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco unanimously ruled that the Trump administration failed to offer any evidence that national security concerns justified immediately restoring the ban, which he launched two weeks ago. They said more legal arguments would be needed to decide the actual fate of Trump’s order. Shortly after the court issued its 29-page ruling, Trump tweeted: “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” He told reporters his administration ultimately would win the case and dismissed the ruling as “political.” The 9th Circuit ruling, upholding last Friday’s decision by U.S. District Judge James Robart to suspend the order, does not resolve the lawsuit. It relates only to whether to lift an emergency halt to Trump’s order put in
place by a lower court. Litigation over his executive order will proceed, as the Justice Department presents evidence that they say demonstrates that people from those countries represent a domestic threat, legal experts said. In its ruling on Thursday, the 9th Circuit said the government had so far failed to show that any person from the seven countries had perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States. Two of the three 9th Circuit judges were appointees of former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, and one was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush. According to a 2010 American Bar Association analysis the court has a nearly 80 percent reversal rate on decisions, the second highest of the 13 appellate courts below the Supreme Court. Trump’s Jan. 27 order, the most divisive action of his young presidency, sparked protests and chaos at U.S. and overseas airports on the weekend after it was issued. It was challenged by the states of Washington and Minnesota, which argued it violated constitutional protections against religious discrimination. The Justice Department, which spoke for the administration at oral arguments on Tuesday, said it was reviewing Thursday’s decision and considering its options. The administration argued that the courts do not have access to the same classified information about threats to the country that
BRIAN SNYDER | REUTERS
the president does. The judges countered that “courts regularly receive classified information under seal.” National Security Concerns The decision came just hours before four people were arrested in southern France, on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, French police and justice sources said on Friday. France remains on high alert over possible Islamist militant attacks. Those in custody included a 22 year-old man and his 16 year-old girlfriend, both known to authorites for connections with radical Islam, after authorities found TATP explosives and other bomb-making materials in his home. More than 230 people have died in a series of assaults since the beginning of 2015 and the country has been under state of emergency rules since November the same year. The attacks in Europe over the
past several years have raised concern for public safety worldwide. Curbing entry to the United States as a national security measure was a central premise of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, originally proposed as a temporary ban on all Muslims. U.S. presidents have in the past claimed sweeping powers to fight terrorism, but the 9th Circuit on Thursday wrote that courts have the authority to review whether the president violated the Constitution. The Next Step The government has 14 days to ask the 9th Circuit to have a larger panel of judges review the decision “en banc,” or appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will likely determine the case’s final outcome. But it would need five of the eight justices to vote in favor of suspending the travel ban during litigation. That is likely to be a tall order as the court is evenly divided 4-4
By the numbers — Cooper cabinet paychecks
SALARIES from page A1 of the N.C. Department of Transportation will make 40 percent more than his predecessors in Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration. James H. Trogdon III will earn $195,352 annually in the N.C. DOT’s top post, earning $50,000 more than the governor himself. Nick Tennyson, the former transportation secretary in the McCrory administration, earned $138,040 annually. Trogdon is a registered professional engineer with more than 30 years of experience in transportation. He is a veteran of the N.C. Department of Transportation, where he worked in the highway division and later as NCDOT’s chief operating officer, and most recently served as national transportation director at SAS Institute. Trogdon is also a major general with more than three decades of military service. Cooper Budget Director Charlie Perusse also received a $50,000 pay increase, to $195,352, from what McCrory predecessor Drew Heath was paid. Governor Pat McCrory’s administration was heavily criticized in 2013 for raising secretary salaries an average of approximately $9,500. The Associated Press also reported the salaries of McCrory’s staff three weeks after he took office leading to further criticism of
Shanez Tabarsi (R) is greeted by her daughter Negin after traveling to the U.S. from Iran following a federal court’s temporary stay of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order travel ban at Logan Airport in Boston, Mass. Feb. 6.
“There is no question these nominees will wield a lot of power, control multi-billion dollar budgets and make decisions that affect millions of North Carolinians...” — Sen. Wesley Meredith (R-Fayetteville)
$144,349
$138,040
$195,352
$138,040
Roy Cooper, Governor
Jim Trogdon, secretary of transportation
$142,100
Mandy Cohen, secretary of health and human services
$130,935
Larry Hall, secretary of military and veterans affairs
Susi Hamilton, secretary of natural and cultural resources
Erik Hooks, secretary of public safety
$130,935 Machelle Sanders, secretary of administration
$130,935 Michael Regan, secretary of environmental quality
$138,040 Tony Copeland, secretary of commerce
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between liberals and conservatives, meaning the administration would need to win over at least one of the liberal justices. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, will likely not go before Senate hearings until March, and many have said the controversy is added incentive for Senate Democrats to use political maneuvering to delay the Gorsuch hearings as long as possible. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said Trump’s policies “still pose a threat to communities of color, religious minorities, women, and others.” But Tom Fitton from the conservative group Judicial Watch said on Twitter: “The Ninth Circuit ruling is a dangerous example of judicial overreach.”
Reuters News Service contributed to this report.
the McCrory administration for salaries of young staffers selected for senior positions. Under Governor Beverly Perdue, state law set agency head salaries at just under $122,000 annually. The legislature changed the law to allow the governor to set each state department head’s salary the summer before McCrory took office. The salaries of the remaining seven secretaries are identical to their predecessors in the previous administration and include: Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen at $142,100; Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland, Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks and Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susi Hamilton at $138,040; and Military and Veterans Affairs Secretary Larry Hall, Administration Secretary Machelle Sanders and Environmental Quality Secretary Michael Regan at $130,935. North Carolina state law requires state agencies to make certain employee personnel information available for inspection by the public, including name, title, age and current salary. Cooper’s cabinet, while sworn into office and performing assigned duties, have not yet been formally submitted to the General Assembly. The governor is fighting the legislature in court over its authority to hold confirmation hearings for cabinet appointments.