In a unanimous decision handed down today, former Cades Schutte partner Judge Richard R. Clifton is one of three judges on the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that refused to reinstate President Donald Trump’s travel ban, which temporarily suspended the nation’s refugee program and immigration from countries that have raised terrorism concerns.
Judge Clifton, nominated to the 9th Circuit by George W. Bush in 2001, is only the second judge from Hawai‘i to serve on the 9th Circuit. He grew up in the Midwest, but moved to Hawai‘i after graduating from Yale Law School in 1975. After clerking for Senior Circuit Judge Herbert Y. C. Choy, he joined Cades Schutte, becoming a partner in 1982. His practice focused on business and commercial litigation with an emphasis on complex litigation and appellate practice, including oral arguments before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation’s largest and busiest appellate court, hears appeals of cases decided by federal trial courts and certain executive branch administrative agencies in nine western states and two Pacific Island jurisdictions.
Documents related to the hearing, State of Washington & State of Minnesota v. Trump, are updated regularly, and can be viewed here.
A timeline of updates related to the hearing can be found here, and the live audio of the hearing is below.
The Washington Post contributed to this article via the Associated Press.
