At different times during oral arguments in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over whether to reinstate President Trump's travel ban it looked like either Washington state attorney Noah G. Purcell or Justice Department attorney August E. Flentje had the upper hand. The Department of Justice attorney really struggled with articulating why the executive order had to remain in place," said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. But she added: "The reason you can't read a lot into oral arguments is that it's the judges' job to perform a searching inquiry on both sides. What's important to keep in mind, she said, is "It's the judges' job to play devil's advocate. The Justice Department would then either ask for the full court to review a stay on Trump's travel rules or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 07, 2017 20:44 UTC