The Fourth Circuit will hear en banc the oral argument today at 2:30 pm in International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump. For the first time (that we know) the Court will allow a live audio broadcast of proceedings.
Earlier this year the Ninth Circuit permitted the live audio broadcast of the argument on the prior Immigration Executive Order. 137,000 people logged in to listen.
Listeners can find the link to the audio feed on the Fourth Circuit’s web page here. The Court has also advised that an MP3 audio file will be available for download approximately one hour after the argument concludes here.
The case Orders and Briefs are available online on the site. In the Case Information section under Public Advisory #4 in the News & Announcements section on Page 1, the Orders, Briefs and more are accessible.
Only 14 of the Court’s 15 active judges will hear the case. Judge Wilkinson has recused himself because his son-in-law is the Acting Solicitor General. The even number of participating judges presents the awkward possibility of a tie vote.
For an overview of the issues in the appeal, you should see our earlier EDVa Update posts on the Immigration Order battles here, here, here, here, and here. But if you only have time to review one post, go our March 30th post. While the instant appeal addresses an order from the District Court for Maryland, and not Judge’s Trenga’s ruling in Sarsour et al. v. Trump, his opinion provides extremely well-reasoned coverage of the issues.