9th Circuit judge questions Justice Department’s lawsuit against Arizona immigration law

Washington Post: “[Judge John T. Noonan Jr.] took aim at the core of the Justice Department’s argument . . .  ’I've read your brief, I’ve read the District Court opinion, I’ve heard your interchange with my two colleagues, and I don’t understand your argument,’ Noonan told deputy solicitor general Edwin S. Kneedler. ‘We are dependent as a court on counsel being responsive. . . . You keep saying the problem is that a state officer is told to do something. That’s not a matter of preemption. . . . I would think the proper thing to do is to concede that this is a point where you don’t have an argument.’”

Oral arguments can be viewed on YouTube.