(photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The personal attacks on the distinguished district judge and our colleagues were out of all bounds of civic and persuasive discourse—particularly when they came from the parties. It does no credit to the arguments of the parties to impugn the motives or the competence of the members of this court; ad hominem attacks are not a substitute for effective advocacy. Such personal attacks treat the court as though it were merely a political forum in which bargaining, compromise, and even intimidation are acceptable principles. The courts of law must be more than that, or we are not governed by law at all.
— Ninth Circuit Judge (and Bush appointee) Jay Bybee, dissenting from the denial of en banc review in the first travel ban case, while also making a clear reference to the President in his opinion. Judge Bybee may be conservative, but he clearly has a deep-seated respect for the judiciary as an institution (which makes sense for a judge).