The Best Tweets From The Ninth Circuit Immigration Argument

Many of you listened to last night’s immigration argument, but if you didn’t, there were folks tweeting about it that you could follow with hashtags like #9thCircuit and the much more efficient #9thCir.

So let’s curate some of the best Twitter coverage of last night’s argument.

First of all, 137K people listened to this thing? Isn’t that incredible?

https://twitter.com/GypsyHeartPoet/status/829114866447245312

Justice Willett believes that Ron Swanson would be very pleased that more than 137K people listened to an oral argument. I’m pretty sure Ron Swanson would think those people should stop paying attention to government and build their own septic tank to go completely off-grid, but it’s the thought that counts. (For some reason this Tweet isn’t embedding… check it out here.)

Indeed, everyone was hopping on the transparency train last night. Shots fired, U.S. Supreme Court.

This is a friendly reminder that both the Supreme Court of Georgia and Court of Appeals of Georgia both live stream their oral arguments.

— Judge Stephen Dillard (@JudgeDillard) February 8, 2017

https://twitter.com/judgejeffbrown/status/829190327051419649

Value of such live coverage is huge. Public education, transparency, all thanks to farsighted 9th Circuit practice started by Alex Kozinski

— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) February 7, 2017

Yes. Dear #SCOTUS, there's a lesson here about trusting the public to process oral arguments in real time. @FixTheCourt https://t.co/Oux3styfpH

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 7, 2017

Returning to the substance, it looks like former Acting SG Neal Katyal is old enough to remember how Republicans viciously argued that the president was a figurehead with no real power for the last eight years. Amazing how they’ve regained their appreciation for executive power right when it benefits them.

In general, this oral arg reminiscent of pre-2007 Bush Admin args: pres can do virtually anything w/few constraints.

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) February 7, 2017

Katyal also got a retweet from SB Nation’s Spencer Hall, expressing the lived experience of most Americans:

me, every day, buddy, every damn day https://t.co/suupMPVDCm

— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) February 7, 2017

Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell emerged as a new legal star with several luminaries praising his performance:

https://twitter.com/trendinaliaUS/status/829118087496478720

On argument style and quick thinking in immigration hearing, victory goes to Wash.'s Noah Purcell

— Marcia Coyle (@MarciaCoyle) February 8, 2017

https://twitter.com/JoannaDeLaune/status/829116684153745408

There were also Purcell detractors, many of them struggling with basic grammar. And much of the negative coverage of his argument came during the stretch when Judge Clifton pressed Purcell. The Washington lawyer may not have been as prepared for that run because, as Judge Canby pointed out, Clifton seemed to have his burdens reversed.

Judge Friedland, the newest Ninth Circuit judge on the panel, also received praise for presiding over the hearing (Judge Canby and Judge Clifton have senior status):

I've never seen Judge Friedland before, she's completely on it (which is her reputation). Asking both big and small impt Qs.

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) February 7, 2017

https://twitter.com/GuidingEcho/status/829120190948503552

And one person is certainly going to become the administration’s goat:

https://twitter.com/realfacade1/status/829119081471156224

Cue the administration describing Rudy as a deranged old man that no one takes seriously for the next few days.

Poor old Rudy.

---

Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.