9th Circuit has topics that draw Trump’s ire
Court’s agenda has contentious themes
SAN FRANCISCO — The nation’s largest federal court circuit has clashed repeatedly with President Donald Trump over the past six months, and the agenda for its annual meeting is not shying away from topics that have stoked the president’s ire.
Immigration, fake news and meddling in the U.S. election are among the subjects to be discussed or touched on at the four-day conference of the 9th Circuit courts in San Francisco starting Monday.
Judges in the circuit have blocked both of Mr. Trump’s bans on travelers from a group of mostly Muslim countries and halted his attempt to strip funding from so-called-sanctuary cities.
Mr. Trump has fired back, referring to a judge who blocked his first travel ban as a “so-called judge” and calling the ruling that upheld the decision disgraceful. Republicans have accused the 9th Circuit appeals court of a liberal slant and renewed efforts to break it up — a move Mr. Trump supports.
The 9th Circuit’s spokesman, David Madden, acknowledged that someone could see a connection between the conference agenda and the administration, but he said there was no intention to link the two.
At least some of the topics were timely even before the election, and they all reflect issues that could come before judges in the circuit, which includes the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and district and bankruptcy courts in California and eight other western states, Mr. Madden said.
A panel on Monday will discuss cases that set aside the convictions of men who resisted an executive order that led to the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The panelists include 9th Circuit appeals court Judge Mary Schroeder and retired U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, each of whom ruled in a case challenging sucha conviction.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s order allowing the U.S. government to hold roughly 110,000 Japanese-Americans in camps on the grounds of national security turned 75 this year. It has drawn comparisons to Mr. Trump’s travel ban, which detractors say discriminates against Muslims.
Another panel at the conference will discuss programs designed to keep people out of federal prison. Mr. Trump’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has directed federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges possible against the vast majority of suspects, which will likely send more people to prison and for much longer terms.