Amicus Curiae Brief — Trump v. Int'l Refugee Assistance Project, 138 S. Ct. 50 (2017) (No. 16-1436)
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Nos. 16-1436 & 16-1540
OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Supreme Court of the United States
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
ET AL., Petitioners,
Vv.
INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE ASSISTANCE PROJECT,
ET AL., Respondents.
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
ET AL., Petitioners,
Vv.
STATE OF HAWAU, ET AL., Respondents.
ON WRITS OF CERTIORARI TO THE
UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH AND NINTH CIRCUITS
BRIEF FOR SCHOLARS OF FEDERAL
JURISDICTION AS AMICI CURIAE
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS
STEPHEN I. VLADECK SETH P. WAXMAN
727 E. Dean Keeton St. Counsel of Record
Austin, TX 78705 WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP
OMAR A. KHAN 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
JAMIE DYCUS Washington, DC 20006
ADRIEL L. CEPEDA DERIEUX (202) 663-6000
RYAN CHABOT seth.waxman@wilmerhale.com
WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP MARK C. FLEMING
7 World Trade Center WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
250 Greenwich Street HALE AND DORR LLP
New York, NY 10007 60 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ...........0...cc cece, l
EASA Sy SO RRS yA REY VMTN TENE l
A. January Executive Order ....................ccceecssesneees l
TD. ETD BETO CIID cccccccnccectnsnsccevnsvcsscnscesisocves 3
iy.” GU ie III, 5. scnteosineenendnsenssuness 5
D. This Court’s June 26 Order...........c:ccceeeecceecceee- 5
EK. Implementation Of The March Executive
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT................0.--.ccceccsssecceseeces. 8
ae IEE Aa Me Ae MO a ae NAN PON Sa Be bot 10
1. MOOTNESS Is A THRESHOLD
JURISDICTIONAL ISSUE THAT Must Br
ADDRESSED BEFORE THE MERITS ..........cccccecceececes 10
Il. THESE APPEALS WILL BE MooT BEFORE
(OR VERY SHORTLY AFTER) THE CouRT
PEICA RS CORAL, ARGU IIIIIGG cccscccsccccececccccoecccccncccssccecscces 11
1H1. THE Writs OF CERTIORARI SHOULD BE
DISMISSED WITHOUT VACATING THE
STE I SOT eT: 19
RIT i siciascitaconsiigccuasineentesiileanesenieleghevaientiniaeouiaesbibbiaes 23
ii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES
Page(s)
ACLU vy. Clapper, 804 F.3d 617 (2d Cir. 2015).............. 15
Aetna Life Insurance Co. v. Haworth, 300 U.S.
| ___R E E RAN ES SeR Nn a e 10
Alejandrino v. Quezon, 271 U.S. 528 (1926)..........ccc000 11
Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 (1984).......ccescecsereeeseeeerees 10
Alvarez v. Smith, 558 U.S. 87 (2009) .......ccccccccceccosceeeeees 20
American Federation of Government Employ-
ees, AFL-CIO v. Carmen, 669 F.2d 815
Se Te IED nctebscsnonsnetnctnedetnicutmascnnsenmiteeisesvvsmnensseses 14
Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona,
Se ee I diccnesenmeanennesstascscdninssonapntintsinierseconinen 10
Boston Firefighters Union Local 718 v. Boston
Chapter NAACP, Inc., 468 U.S. 1206 (1984)........... 10
Burke v. Barnes, 479 U.S. 361 (1987) ........cccceeeneees 11, 18
City of Erie v. Pap’s A.M., 529 U.S. 277 (2000)............ 10
City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95 (1983) .....17, 18
County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625
ITE ciasniceinredemnevaciissnessnaainaaihapieiindineaniiieiesiiastiindinbenie 10
Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654 (1981)... 22
Darr v. Burford, 339 U.S. 200 (1950) ........ccccccsceseseeseeeeees 15
Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin
Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449 (2007)........ccccc0000 17
Fortson v. Toombs, 379 U.S. 621 (1965) .........cccecceeceeeeee 18
iil
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page(s)
Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envi-
ronmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S.
a iiss chinsikintchnciinhiaditnensinbactdateustanensouacamininnacidiit 18
Hall v. Beals, 396 U.S. 45 (1969) ..........cccccccccccssosersees 11, 18
Hawaii v. Trump, 859 F.3d 741 (9th Cir. 2017) .............. 4
Hohn v. United States, 524 U.S. 236 (1998).................. 21
Honig v. Students of California School for the
Ee Se te i iittitcte ss ctcisententenetensssccapsines 11
International Refugee Assistance Project v.
Trump, 857 F.3d 554 (4th Cir. 2017)............ ce ceeeeeeees 4
Izumi Seimitsu. Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha v.
U.S. Philips Corp., 510 U.S. 27 (1998)... 20
Liner v. Jafco, Inc., 375 U.S. 301 (19G64).........cccccersssseees 10
Local No. 8-6, Oil, Chemical & Atomic
Workers International Union, AFL-CIO v.
BORDOUITE, TE UF Tis Se CID wince enccesccsccsvececcsnsccescees 11
Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. v.
Pg Be LR SR ence eneenp 10
North Carolina v. Rice, 404 U.S. 244 (1971) ...........0.2... 10
Rendell v. Rumsfeld, 484 F.3d 236 (8d Cir.
SUIT iiacictnietsncadacanieihaniadidiacatpasehadhiariaascbnienintaiaiipaiien 18, 19
South Spring Hill Gold Mining Co. v. Amador
Medean Gold Mining Co., 145 U.S. 300
SENET snisinsictinedenciilahindsbabiniemtenuntibendameinesebioheneelsndbeaniionianses 19
Super Tire Engineering Co. v. McCorkle,
Se Se I E eeterisanchsectninienneuinidtatenircnennianinsaneniiassin 18
iv
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page(s)
Trump v. International Refugee Assistance
Project, 137 S. Ct. 2080 (2017) «...---.-se0esereees 5, 6, 15, 22
U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Co. v. Bonner Mall
Partnership, 513 U.S. 18 (1994).......+-0+ 19, 20, 21, 23
United States v. Hamburg-Amerikanische
Packetfahrt-Actien Gesellschaft, 239 US.
ABE (1916) ....cecsccesecceccecsesecsnscsneecsssenernesnnessnneeneenemncneneses 19
United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S.
BE (1950) ......sescesseeccescesrerssseserserssnsseanensenssnenss 1, 9, 19, 22
United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 a 22
University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390
(1981) ....ccccccscssssssessssecsersceenensnssnsnsnenssssenenenenensnnensnensess 11
Washington v. Trump, 2017 WL 462040
(W.D. Wash. Feb. 3, 2017) ......-.-:cssseeeeenennenenrenseseen cree 2
Washington v. Trump, 847 F.3d 1151 (9th Cir.
SII <cccsnvesnscsconccsessnscsntensnstibercsncsonssenssncnouanseneniones 2,3, 15
STATUTES, RULES, AND REGULATIONS
BU.G.C. § 1182 ....cccccseccsssscsccessssseesetenecessnensssnssessreesnenenacens 14
28 U.S.C.
© DBA .....cccccccsccccsceccscoccoversocscnscscsscesonsercessenscncessessesneseses 21
§ DIOG......ccecccccccersccsccsvsscosvsccvessarevenssonsssonsossscensseessensrnsens 19
1 C.F.R.
Part 19.....cccccccccccccccsssosssscssocsesssnesecnnsssenscesentatesnsernnssesees 14
© 19.1 ccccceeessccccccssorcececsscverecooccsenaves ssosvonssnsossosonsnssssocosees 14
Vv
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page(s)
EXECUTIVE MATERIALS
Executive Order No. 11,030, Preparation,
Presentation, Filing, and Publication of
Executive Orders and Proclamations,
27 Fed. Reg. 5847 (June 19, 1962) ..........cccsccceceseeeees 14
Executive Order No. 11,354, Amending
Executive Order No. 11030 of June 19,
1962, with Respect to the Preparation of
Presidential Proclamations, 32 Fed. Reg.
I ii iacentstiincctinacconcdnnertiierinnsantidbasonsiiée 14
Executive Order No. 13,769, Protecting the
Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into
the United States, 82 Fed. Reg. 8977 (Jan.
Seas re issechisinancsiuhscisentaapeicsdtntteiieodethandiiinanadaaniaiiunlaiichaas 1,2,3
Executive Order No. 13,780, Protecting the Na-
tion from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the
United States, 82 Fed. Reg. 13,209 (Mar. 6,
SUED bubnchstociitadanaindiadiiseeiainmiaieeniibepiaiatiaa 3, 5, 11, 12, 17, 21
OTHER AUTHORITIES
Culliford, Elizabeth, U.S. Demands Nations
Provide More Traveler Data or Face Sanc-
tions, Reuters (July 13, 2017), http://ive.
reuters.com/Event/Live_US_Polities/10121
DeChiaro, Dean, Travelers From Six Muslim
Countries Drop Without Travel Ban, Roll
Call (June 12, 2017), https://www.rolleall.com/
news/policy/travelers-six-muslim-countries-
drop-without-travel-ban.............:esscecsesesersesceceecessenes 13
vi
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page(s)
Epps, Garrett, Trump’s Limited Travel Ban
Victory, Atlantic (June 26, 2017), https://
www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/
the-trump-administrations-limited-victory/
SUD Aipiieibiaciidisaphaieiininasbipliaiienbiadibloniueiensaittiinedioveenn 16
Lederman, Marty, /t’s All About that Stay
(and Its Surprising Limits), Just Security
(June 26, 2017), https://www.justsecurity.
org/42550/stay-or-lack-thereof ...........ccccsssecceeeeeeeess 16
Litman, Leah, Symposium: The mootness
games, SCOTUSblog (July 11, 2017), http://
www.scotusblog.com/2017/07/symposium-
I aincccsscntncintirniciainininntaiestiinsinnninnninnanie 16
Manuel, Kate M., Congressional Research
Service, R44743, Executive Authority to
Exclude Aliens: In Brief (2017), available
at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R44743.pdf.......... 14
Rappaport, Nolan, Travel ban issue will be
moot before SCOTUS date—here’s why,
TheHill (June 28, 2017), http://thehill.com/
blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/339825-tra
vel-ban-will-be-moot-before-it-reaches-sup
I icicttrciecitninbensisccniptnsnipianciniiunsenmnineces 16
Vil
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page(s)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
USCIS to Expand In-Person Interview
Requirements for Certain Permanent
Residency Applicants (Aug. 28, 2017),
https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/
uscis-to-expand-in-person-interview-require
ments-for-certain-permanent-residency-ap
IIIT icsleacicisa ondeieelbceeneaiinicubleidagietnieiKendaitapesinalmatinntnenoniiniiiens 7
U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Frequently Asked Questions on Protecting
the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry
into the United States (June 29, 2017),
https://web.archive.org/web/20170629221445/
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/06/29/freque
ntly-asked-questions-protecting-nation-for
eign-terrorist-entry-united-states.............ccccecceeeeee 6
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Press
Release, DHS Statement On U.S. Supreme
Court Decision On The _ President’s
Executive Order On Protecting The Nation
From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The
United States (June 26, 2017), https://www.
dhs.gov/news/2017/06/26/dhs-statement-us-
supreme-court-decision-president-s-
executive-Order-protecting........ccecceeecceeressccceereseneeees 8
Vill
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
U.S. Department of State, Background
Briefing on the Implementation of
Executive Order 13780 Protecting the
Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into
the United States (June 29, 2017), available
at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/
ee asitachrsntsincniseenincaicbiidcinidnsniteiicinneccees
U.S. Department of State, Important
Announcement: Executive Order on Visas,
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/
news/important-announcement.html (last
EEE cidccieientncctevirenccnsontesomniveses
U.S. Secretary of State, (SBU) Implementing
Executive Order 13780 Following Supreme
Court Ruling—Guidance to Visa-
Adjudicating Posts (June 28, 2017),
available at http://live.reuters.com/Event/
Live_US_Politices/989297085 .2000....... ccc seeees
Zapotosky, Matt, Supreme Court allows broad
enforcement of travel ban—at least for a
day, Wash. Post (Sept. 11, 2017), https://
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-
security/justice-dept-again-asks-supreme-
court-to-allow-broad-enforcement-of-travel-
ban/2017/09/11/6c3858ae-970b-1 1le7-87fe-c3
f7ee4035c9_story.html?utm_term=.b7b0195
UIE iiinidsescnncincdniepesaiscsipudeaieinbibieinindainnisaniaciscveees
Page(s)
INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE'
Amici curiae are legal scholars who study the scope
and limits of federal judicial power.’ Their interest in
these appeals arises from the important questions that
the appeals present in relation to mootness. Amici urge
the Court to dismiss the appeals as moot but forbear
from vacating the judgments below under the narrow
doctrine announced in United States v. Munsingwear,
Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950).
STATEMENT
These appeals arise from the government’s chal-
lenges to preliminary injunctions barring enforcement
of certain provisions of an executive order dated March
6, 2017 that sought to (i) temporarily ban entry into the
United States of noncitizens from several predominant-
ly Muslim countries for 90 days, (ii) suspend refugee
admissions under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Pro-
gram (“USRAP”) for 120 days, and (iii) reduce the
number of refugees to be admitted in fiscal year 2017.
A. January Executive Order
On January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump
signed Executive Order No. 13,769, “Protecting the
Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United
States.” 82 Fed. Reg. 8977 (Jan. 27, 2017) (“EO-1”).
'No counsel for a party authored any portion of this brief,
and no person other than amici or their counsel made a monetary
contribution intended to fund the preparation or submission of this
brief. Petitioners have filed a blanket letter of consent. Respond-
ents the International Refugee Assistance Project and the State of
Hawaii have consented to the filing of this brief.
2 A complete list of amici is set forth in the appendix to this
brief.
2
The immediate effects of EO-1 included, among other
things, suspending the entry of noncitizens from seven
predominantly Muslim countries for a period of 90 days.
See EQO-1, § 3(c) (suspending entry of noncitizens from
Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen).
EKOQ-1 instructed the Secretary of State, Secretary of
Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelli-
gence to review those countries’ procedures for vetting
applicants for admission to the United States and to as-
sess the information used to determine whether noncit-
izens seeking entry posed a national security risk. See,
¢.g., id. § 3(a)-(b), (h). Other provisions of EO-1 reduced
the number of refugees to be admitted to the United
States in fiscal year 2017 from 110,000 to 50,000 and
suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
(“USRAP”) for 120 days. See EO-1, § 5(a), (c)-(d). The
President’s actions substantially effectuated his well-
publicized proposal as a presidential candidate to im-
plement a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims en-
tering the United States.” JA 478.
EO-1 was promptly challenged and, in February
2017, the U.S. District Court for the Western District
of Washington enjoined enforcement of certain provi-
sions of the order. See Washington v. Trump, 2017 WL
462040, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 3, 2017). The district
court enjoined enforcement of, inter alia, Sections 3(c)
(suspending entry from listed countries for 90 days)
and 5(a) (suspending USRAP for 120 days). The Ninth
Circuit declined to stay the district court’s decision
pending appeal. See Washington v. Trump, 847 F.3d
1151, 1169 (9th Cir. 2017) (per curiam).
No injunction issued concerning EO-1’s require-
ments relating to any internal executive review of cur-
rent procedures and informational needs associated
3
with the adjudication of visas, admissions, or other im-
migration benefits. See, e.g., EO-1, $§ 3(a)-(b), 3(h).
B. March Executive Order
On March 6, 2017, the President signed a second,
superseding Executive Order (“EO-2”), also captioned
“Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry
Into the United States.” Exec. Order No. 13,780, 82
Fed. Reg. 13,209 (Mar. 6, 2017). After the President
signed KQ-2, the government sought (and obtained)
dismissal of the Ninth Circuit proceedings relating to
EO-1 rather than seek en banc or certiorari review.
Like EO-1, EO-2 restricted entry of most nonciti-
zens from enumerated predominantly Muslim countries
for a period of 90 days “from the effective date of thie]
order.” EO-2 differed in that it did not apply to Lraq
nationals. EO-2, §2(c)’ Like EO-1, EO-2 instructed
national security agencies to conduct a review to de-
termine what information was needed to assess wheth-
er individuals seeking admission from other countries
posed a threat to national security. Jd. § 2(b). EO-2 al-
so suspended USRAP for a 120-day period “from the
effective date of th{e] order,” and reinstated the reduc-
tion to 50,000 of the number of refugees to be admitted
to the United States in fiscal year 2017. Jd. $§ 6(a)-(b).
Section 14 of EO-2, entitled “Effective Date,” provided
that EO-2 would take effect on March 16, 2017. Jd. § 14.
} £O-2 exempted several categories of persons—such as law-
ful permanent residents of the United States-—whose due process
rights the Ninth Circuit had concluded were violated by EO-1.
See Washington, 847 F.3d at 1165-1166. Alluding to these exemp-
tions, the President publicly described EO-2 as “a watered-down
version of [EO-1].” JA 183.
4
EO-2 was likewise immediately challenged. On
March 15, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District
of Hawaii enjoined Sections 2 and 6 of EO-2 in their en-
tirety, including the internal review and reporting pro-
visions in, for example, Sections 2(a), (b), (d), and (e).
On the same day, the U.S. District Court for the Dis-
trict of Maryland separately enjoined Section 2(c)’s 90-
day entry ban, but unlike the district court in Hawai,
did not extend the injunction to include any of the re-
view and reporting provisions in Section 2. On May 25,
2017, the en banc Fourth Circuit affirmed the latter
ruling in relevant part. See International Refugee As-
sistance Project v. Trump, 857 F.3d 554, 604-606 (4th
Cir. 2017) (en bane) (“JRAP”). On June 12, 2017, the
Ninth Circuit lifted the injunction on enforcement of
Section 2’s internal review and reporting provisions,
but affirmed the injunction as to Sections 2(c), 6(a), and
(b). See Hawaii v. Trump, 859 F.3d 741, 757 (9th Cir.
2017).
On June 13, 2017, the government filed a consent
motion in the Hawaii case, requesting that the mandate
issue immediately so that the “Government may then
implement” the review provisions of Sections 2 and 6 of
EO-2. Consent Mot. To Issue Mandate 3-4, Doc. 316,
Hawaii v. Trump, No. 17-15589 (9th Cir. filed June 13,
2017). The Ninth Circuit granted that motion on June
19, 2017.
Since June 19, 2017, no injunction or other judicial
restraint has limited the government’s ability to im-
plement the internal executive review and reporting
procedures of Sections 2 and 6 of FO-2.
5
Cc. June 14 Memorandum
The government petitioned for writs of certiorari in
the Hawaii and IRAP cases and moved to stay the
lower courts’ injunctions. In opposing certiorari, re-
spondents argued that any challenge to Section 2(c) of
KO-2 would be moot before the Court could hear it be-
cause, by its own terms, Section 2(c) expired at 12:01
a.m., Eastern Daylight Time on June 14, 2017, 90 days
after the “effective date of th{e] order,” which was
12:01 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time on March 16, 2017.
E0-2, $§ 2(c), 14.
Apparently in response to that argument, on June
14, 2017, after Section 2(c) had already expired at 12:01
a.m. that same day, the President issued a memoran-
dum declaring that the “effective date” of EO-2’s en-
joined provisions would be “the date and time at which
the referenced injunctions are lifted or stayed with re-
spect to that provision.” JA 1442 (“Memorandum”). The
Memorandum further stated that it “should be construed
to amend” EO-2 “[t]o the extent it is necessary.” /d.
D. This Court’s June 26 Order
On June 26, 2017, this Court granted certiorari,
consolidated the Hawaii and IRAP appeals, and stayed
the appealed injunctions of EO-2’s operative provisions
insofar as they applied to foreign nationals with “no
connection to the United States at all.” Trump v. In-
ternational Refugee Assistance Project, 137 S. Ct. 2080,
2088 (2017) (per curiam). The Court stated:
In light of the June 12 decision of the Ninth
Circuit vacating the injunction as to § 2(a), the
executive review directed by that subsection
may proceed promptly, if it is not already un-
derway. EO-2 instructs the Secretary of
6
Homeland Security to complete this review
within 20 days, after which time foreign gov-
ernments will be given 50 days further to bring
their practices into line with the Secretary’s di-
rectives. §§ 2(a)-(b), (d).
Id. at 2088-2089. The Court noted that it “fully ex-
pectied] that the relief we grant today will permit the
Executive to conclude its internal work and provide
adequate notice to foreign governments within the 90-
day life of § 2(c).” Jd. at 2089.
The Court’s June 26 order also directed the parties,
in briefing the appeal, to address whether the challeng-
es to Section 2(c) became moot on June 14, 2017. 137
S. Ct. at 2086-2087. No party has argued to this Court
that the challenges are moot.
E. Implementation Of The March Executive Order
After the mandate issued in the Hawatii case on
June 19, 2017, the government began to implement the
review and reporting processes required by EO-2. On
June 29, senior administration officials confirmed that
“review of additional procedures for vetting of refu-
gees ... began ... on June 23rd."* On or about July
* U.S. Dep’t of State, Background Briefing on the Implemen-
tation of Executive Order 13780 Protecting the Nation From For-
eign Terrorist Entry Into the United States (June 29, 2017), avail-
able at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/06/272281.htm; see
also U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Security, Frequently Asked Ques-
tions on Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into
the United States (June 29, 2017), https://web.archive.org/web/
20170629221445/https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/06/29/frequently-
asked-questions-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-
states (indicating that review of the USRAP application and adju-
dication processes was “underway”).
7
10,° the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”)
issued its Section 2(b) report to the President concern-
ing the results of the worldwide review described in
Section 2(a). On September 11, a spokesperson stated
that DHS would provide a further report “in the com-
ing weeks.” At that time the State Department was
“engaging with foreign governments to meet ... new
standards for information sharing.”’ At least some of
the consequences of the required review have already
emerged. For example, USCIS will begin expanding
in-person interviews for certain applicants for perma-
nent residency effective October 1 to “compl[y] with
Executive Order 13780."
The government began implementing Section 2(c)’s
90-day travel restriction within 72 hours of this Court’s
June 26 ruling—.e., no later than June 29, 2017. JA
1442; see also Opp. To Emergency Mot. 6, Hawaii v.
Trump, No. 17-50 (D. Haw. filed July 3, 2017) (Doe.
* See Culliford, U.S. Demands Nations Provide More Travel-
er Data or Face Sanctions, Reuters (July 18, 2017), available at
http://ive.reuters.com/E vent/Live_US_Politics/1012197528 (quot-
ing cable that “outlines the results of the report submitted to the
President on July 10”).
° Zapotosky, Supreme Court allows broad enforcement of
travel ban—at least for a day, Wash. Post (Sept. 11, 2017), https://
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-cept-again-
asks-supreme-court-to-allow-broad-enforcement-of-travel-ban/2017/
09/1 1/6c3853ae-970b-11e7-87fe-c3f7ee4035c9_ story.html?utm_term
=.b7b019502bf6.
1 Td.
S USCIS, USCIS to Expand In-Person Interview Require-
ments for Certain Permanent Residency Applicants (Aug. 28,
2017), https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-to-expand -in-
person-interview-requirements-for-certain-permanent-residency-
applicants.
8
301). A June 26 DHS press release explained that the
“granting of a partial stay of the circuit injunctions ...
has allowed the Department of Homeland Security to
largely implement the President’s Executive Order.”
Two days later, the State Department promulgated
guidance concerning implementation of FO-2 in a cable
to visa-adjudicating posts.'° The cable stated that “im-
plementation of [EO-2] sections for which injunctions
have been lifted will begin June 29, 2017.”"'
More specifically, the cable stated that Section
2(c)’s “90-day suspension of entry will be implemented
worldwide at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
June 29, 2017.”'? The June 28 cable also stated that the
USRAP refugee program “is suspended for 120 days.”"’
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
These appeals concern the government’s challenge
to preliminary injunctions against enforcement of three
specific provisions of EO-2. That challenge is or shortly
will be moot.
* See DHS, Press Release, DHS Statement On U.S. Supreme
Court Decision On The President’s Executive Order On Protecting
The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States
(June 26, 2017), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/06/26/dhs-state
ment-us-supreme-court-decision-president-s-executive-order-protec
ting.
10 See Sec’y, U.S. State Dep’t, (SBU) Implementing Execu-
tive Order 13780 Following Supreme Court Ruling—Guidance to
Visa-Adjudicating Posts (June 28, 2017), available at http://
live.reuters.com/Event/Live_US_Politics/989297085.
I 7g.
12 Td.
13 7.
9
By their terms, two of the provisions at issue ex-
pired months ago. EO-2 states, in a provision never
enjoined by any court, that its “effective date” was
March 16, 2017. Sections 2(c) and 6(a) were due to ex-
pire within 90 and 120 days, respectively, of that effec-
tive date and those time periods now have run.
Independently, all three contested provisions of
KO-2 began to be implemented when this Court stayed
the injunctions in its June 26, 2017 decision. Even as-
suming Sections 2(c), 6(a), and 6(b) were not “effective”
until June 26, all three provisions will have run their
course before or shortly after this Court hears oral ar-
gument. The government’s challenge to the injunctions
accordingly no longer presents a live case or controver-
sy (or shortly will cease to do so), thus mooting the ap-
peals.
Given that the appeals are or shortly will be moot,
the only remaining question is whether the Court
should vacate the judgments of the courts of appeals.
The Court should not do so. The mootness of these
cases has nothing to do with the “vagaries of circum-
stance,” and everything to do with the government’s
choice to impose the restrictions in question for only a
short period, and by its conscious, strategic, and volun-
tary decisions not to expedite litigation during that pe-
riod. “The case is therefore one where the United
States, having slept on its rights, now asks [the Court]
to do what by orderly procedure it could have done for
itself.” Munsingwear, 340 U.S. at 41. Accordingly, the
correct course is to dismiss the petitions for certiorari
while leaving the judgments below in place.
10
ARGUMENT
I. MoorTrness Is A THRESHOLD JURISDICTIONAL ISSUE
THAT Must BE ADDRESSED BEFORE THE MERITS
The “exercise of judicial power depends upon the
existence of a case or controversy.” Liner v. Jafco,
Inc., 375 U.S. 301, 306 n.3 (1964). This requirement re-
serves federal courts’ power for controversies that are
“definite and concrete” and “touch{] the legal relations
of parties having adverse legal interests.” Aetna Life
Ins. Co. v. Haworth, 300 U.S. 227, 240-241 (19387). The
“case or controversy” requirement “defines with re-
spect to the Judicial Branch the idea of separation of
powers on which the Federal Government is founded.”
Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 750 (1984).
Mootness doctrine bars the federal courts from
considering cases in which “the parties lack a legally
cognizable interest in the outcome.” City of Erie v.
Pap’s A.M., 529 U.S. 277, 287 (2000) (quoting County of
Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 631 (1979)). This
Court has accordingly recognized that mootness is “a
jurisdictional question because the Court is not em-
powered to decide moot questions or abstract proposi-
tions.” North Carolina v. Rice, 404 U.S. 244, 246 (1971)
(per curiam) (internal quotation marks omitted). Be-
cause “moot questions require no answer,” Missouri,
Kan. & Tex. Ry. Co. v. Ferris, 179 U.S. 602, 606 (1900),
resolution of a controversy that has become moot
“amount[s] to no more than an advisory opinion,” which
federal courts are without power to provide, Boston
Firefighters Union Local 718 v. Bostox Chapter
NAACP, Inc., 468 U.S. 1206, 1210 (1984).
Mootness at any stage of litigation forecloses judi-
cial review—even if a justiciable question existed at an
earlier time. See, e.g., Arizonans for Official English v.
11
Arizona, 520 U.S. 48, 67 (1997) (“[A Jn actual controver-
sy must be extant at all stages of review, not merely at
the time the complaint is filed.”); Hall v. Beals, 396
U.S. 45, 48 (1969) (per curiam) (dispute was moot be-
cause “[t]he case [] lost ... its character as a present,
live controversy of the kind that must exist if we are to
avoid advisory opinions on abstract propositions of
law”).
Mootness may arise, as in these appeals, in the con-
text of an appellate challenge to a preliminary injunc-
tion. See, e.g., Honig v. Students of Cal. Sch. for the
Blind, 471 U.S. 148, 149 (1985); University of Tex. v.
Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 394 (1981). In such an appeal,
the only issue before the Court is “whether the prelim-
inary injunction should have issued.” Honig, 471 U.S.
at 149. Once the enjoined conduct has ceased, “the cor-
rectness of the decision to grant [the] injunction ... is
moot.” Camenisch, 451 U.S. at 394. Where the injunc-
tion tied to the conduct “expired by its own terms, ...
there remain for this Court no actual matters in con-
troversy.” Local No. 8-6, Oil, Chem. & Atomic Work-
ers Int'l Union, AFL-CIO v. Missouri, 361 U.S. 3638,
367 (1960) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also
Burke v. Barnes, 479 U.S. 361, 363 (1987) (legislators’
challenge to pocket veto was mooted when “{tJhe bill in
question expired by its own terms”); Alejandrino v.
Quezon, 271 U.S. 528, 532 (1926) (action to enjoin legis-
lator’s disciplinary suspension was mooted when sus-
pension expired).
Il. THESE APPEALS WILL BE Moot BEFORE (OR VERY
SHORTLY AFTER ) THE COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENT
A. According to EOQ-2’s stated “Effective Date,”
Sections 2(c) and 6(a) expired months ago. Section 14 of
EO-2 states that the order “is effective at 12:01 a.m.,
12
eastern daylight time on March 16, 2017.” EO-2, § 14.
Section 2(c), in turn, suspended entry into the United
States of designated individuals “for 90 days from the
effective date of this order.” Jd. § 2(c). Thus, as the gov-
ernment initially conceded, “Section 2(c)’s 90-day sus-
pension” presumptively “expire[d] in early June,” specif-
ically at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on June 14,
2017. Gov’t Stay Mot. 11, International Refugee Assis-
tance Project v. Trump, No. 17-1351 (4th Cir. filed Mar.
24, 2017) (Doc. 35). Similarly, Section 6(a) of EO-2 sus-
pended refugee travel and decisions on applications for
refugee status “for 120 days after the effective date of
this order.” On its own terms, therefore, Section 6(a)
expired on July 14, 2017. Expiration of these two provi-
sions of EO-2 mooted the government’s challenge to the
injunctions against their implementation.
The government identifies no basis for disagree-
ment with this straightforward view of the order’s
plain terms and their effect. It merely points to EO-2
itself, along with unspecified “background legal princi-
ples” and “common sense,” to support its contention
that the preliminary injunctions issued in March some-
how “delayed or tolled” the 90-day period specified in
Section 2(c). Pet. Br. 36. But nothing in EO-2 contem-
plates any delay or “tolling” of the time periods provid-
ed in Sections 2(c) and 6(a), much less suggests that
those two provisions could be tolled while other provi-
sions of EO-2 remained subject to “the effective date of
th[e] order” that the order itself specifies, 7.e., March
16, 2017. Instead, EO-2 directs that entry be suspend-
ed “temporarily” during a fixed, discrete interval com-
mencing at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March
16, 2017, and ending 90 days later, to facilitate the “re-
view” described in Section 2(a)—which, as explained
above (pp. 6-8), has proceeded notwithstanding the in-
13
junctions. It is entirely consistent with “common
sense” to conclude that EO-2 means what it says: when
the specified interval ends, so does any suspension of
entry. The same conclusion applies equally to Section
6(a)’s suspension of refugee travel and status decisions.
That the lower courts enjoined enforcement of these
provisions should not prompt this Court to extend their
effective dates or imply a tolling provision that EO-2’s
plain terms do not contemplate. This is especially true
where the government has treated the order as “effec-
tive” all along, by implementing other, complementary
requirements of EO-2."
Nor does the President’s June 14 Memorandum
“put[] the issue to rest,” as the government contends.
Pet. Br. 37. First, the Memorandum issued on June 14,
2017, after Section 2(c)’s suspension of entry had al-
ready expired at 12:01 a.m. that same day. The Memo-
randum purported to “provide[] guidance” concerning
Section 2(c) or, if necessary, “amend” that provision
“lijn light of questions in litigation.” JA 1441-1442. But
by the time the Memorandum issued, there was no ef-
fective provision suspending entry as to which the
Memorandum could provide guidance or effect an
amendment. The government has articulated no reason
the Court should construe Section 2(c) as surviving the
very expiration that the June 14 Memorandum (belat-
edly and ineffectively) sought to address.
4 See, e.g., DeChiaro, Travelers From Six Muslim Countries
Drop Without Travel Ban, Roll Call (June 12, 2017), https://
www.rollcall.com/news/policy/travelers-six-muslim-countries-drop-
without-travel-ban (noting DHS “implemented some new vetting
procedures in accordance with a section of the March 6 order that
was not affected by the courts”; quoting DHS press secretary as
stating “‘Section 5 allows us to continue to work on uniform vet-
ting and screening procedures for all countries”).
14
Second, to the extent the government contends
that the Mc.norandum somehow resuscitated the de-
funct Section 2(c), or amended Section 6(a) so as to
forestall its expiration, it did neither. 8 U.S.C.
§ 1182(f), which the President invoked as authority for
issuing EO-2, requires him to act “by proclama-
tion.” Thus, the suspension power historically has been
exercised by proclamation, and in some instances by
executive order. Manuel, Cong. Research Serv.,
R44743, Executive Authority to Exclude Aliens: In
Brief 6-10 (2017) (listing executive orders and procla-
mations). Both are formal documents that require a
specific recitation and must be reviewed by the Direc-
tor of the Office of Management and Budget and the
Attorney General before they are final. See 1 C.F.R.
Part 19 (setting forth requirements for executive or-
ders and proclamations); Exec. Order No. 11,030 (gov-
erning preparation of executive orders and proclama-
tions); Exec. Order No. 11,354 (amending EO 11,030).
Plainly, the Memorandum is not a proclamation or
executive order. It omits the recitation required by 1
C.F.R. § 19.1(g), and there is no indication the Memo-
randum was subject to review by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget and the Attorney
General. These requirements are not trivial. The D.C.
Circuit recognized as much when it rejected a challenge
to certain presidential action as insufficiently formal
because there was no “relevant statute or judicial deci-
sion requiring the President [when taking such action]
to act by Executive Order or any other formal procla-
mation.” American Fed’n of Gov't Employees, AF L-
CIO v. Carmen, 669 F.2d 815, 820 n.27 (D.C. Cir.
1981). Here, by contrast, a “relevant statute,” Section
1182(f), expressly constrains the President to proceed
formally. An exercise of the suspension power by
15
memorandum therefore would constitute an impermis-
sible end run around statutory requirements. The
Ninth Cireuit recognized this in rejecting a purported
modification of EKO-1 via “laluthoritative
[gluidance.” Washington, 847 F.3d at 1166. The same
fate should meet any attempt to rescue or amend Sec-
tions 2(¢c) and 6(a) of EO-2 by means other than an ac-
tual proclamation or executive order.
B. Even if the June 14 Memorandum somehow
salvaged Sections 2(c) and 6(a) from becoming moot, all
three contested provisions will cease to be effective by
the time this Court hears argument or shortly thereaf-
ter. That is because, on the government’s own reading
of EO-2 and the Memorandum, Sections 2(c), 6(a), and
6(b) of EO-2 became operative as of “the date and time
at which the ... injunctions [we]re lifted or stayed with
respect to [each] provision”—specifically, on the morn-
ing of June 26, when this Court issued its ruling staying
the appealed-from injunctions. See Trump v. Interna-
tional Refugee Assistance Project, 1837 S. Ct. 2080,
2087-2089 (2017).
Put differently, even taking June 26 (rather than
March 16) as the effective date of Section 2(c), that pro-
vision’s entry-suspension policy will lapse 90 days later,
i.é., on September 24, 2017. Similarly, Section 6(a),
which suspends the admission cof refugees under
USRAP for “120 days from the effective date of [the]
order,” will expire on October 24, 2017.'° And Section
'S Even if the Court concludes that mootness doctrine does
not prevent it from adjudicating the government’s soon-to-be-
moot challenge to Section 6(a), an important prudential question
exists whether the Court should “decide such momentous consti-
tutional issues based on a request for such narrow and temporary
relief.” ACLU v. Clapper, 804 F.3d 617, 626 (2d Cir. 2015); see
also Darr v. Burford, 339 U.S. 200, 227 (1950) (Frankfurter, J.,
16
6(b), which limits the entry of refugees to no “more
than 50,000 [| in fiscal year 2017” will have no effect af-
ter September 30, the last day of the 2017 fiscal year.
See, e.g., 5. Rep. No. 114-264, at 1 (2017) (“[MJaking ap-
propriations ... for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2017|.!"). Accordingly, even to the extent the provi-
sions at issue have not already expired, all three will
shortly do so, mooting the appeals.'*
As set forth in detail above (pp. 6-8), the govern-
ment’s own statements confirm that it implemented
Sections 2(c), 6(a), and 6(b) after this Court’s June 26
dissenting) (“Petitions [] have been denied because, even though
serious constitutional questions were raised, it seemed ... that
time would soon bury the question|.”).
'© See Litman, Symposium: The mootness games, SCO-
TUSblog GWuly 11, 2017), http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/07/
symposium-mootness-games/ (“(T]he case will likely be moot by
the time the court hears argument in the fall, or reaches a deci-
sion.”); Rappaport, Travel ban issue will be moot before SCOTUS
date—here’s why, TheHill (June 28, 2017), http://thehill.com/blogs/
pundits-blog/immigration/339825-travel-ban-will-be-moot-before-
it-reaches-supreme-court-heres (“This will moot the travel ban
issues before the [C]ourt reconvenes to hear arguments on the
merits of the case.”); Lederman, /t’s All About that Stay (and Its
Surprising Limits), Just Security (June 26, 2017), https://»ww
justsecurity.org/42550/stay-or-lack-thereof/ (“No, the case will be
moot for two other reasons: For one thing, the 90-day entry ban
goes into effect 72 hours from now, at least as to some aliens (see
below), and thus it will expire by its terms on September 27.
Moreover, as the Court explains, by October the Section 2 “inter-
nal review” should be completed ... and therefore the predicate for
the entry ban will be kaput by then, too.”); Epps, Trump’s Limited
Travel Ban Victory, Atlantic (June 26, 2017), https://www.
theatlantic. com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-trump-administrations-
limited-victory/531708/ (“[TyJhe court merely granted review, and
delayed actual consideration of the case until the opening of next
October’s term—by which time the specific issue will most likely
be moot.”).
17
order issued, conclusively demonstrating that those
provisions “took effect” no later than that date. In an
“Important Announcement” published on July 14, for
example, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of
Consular Affairs clarified that it “began implementing
|KO-2] at our embassies and consulates abroad in com-
pliance with the Supreme Court’s decision and in ac-
cordance with the Presidential Memorandum issued on
June 14, 2017.” U.S. Dep’t of State, Important An-
nouncement: Executive Order on Visas, https://travel.
state.gov/content/travel/en/news/important-announcem
ent.html (last visited Sept. 18, 2017).
In addition, the government has explained that
Sections 2(c), 6(a), and 6(b) were designed “to operate
in tandem with the parallel reviews,” Reply Br. in Sup-
port of Application for Stay Pending Appeal 5, pre-
scribed in EO-2 to “assess whether current ... proce-
dures are adequate to detect terrorists seeking to infil-
trate the Nation,” EQ-2, §1(f). The government has
been free to implement—and indeed has implement-
ed—those review procedures since at least June 19.
See supra pp. 6-8. The parallel review of admission
procedures that was the predicate for the contested
provisions of EQO-2 will be complete either by the time
this Court hears argument or shortly thereafter.
C. No exception to the doctrine of mootness ap-
plies. The appeals do not fall within “the established
exception to mootness for disputes capable of repeti-
tion, yet evading review.” Federal Election Comm'n v.
Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 462
(2007). That exception applies “only in exceptional sit-
uations, and generally only where the named plaintiff
can make a reasonable showing that he will again be
subjected to the alleged illegality.” City of Los Angeles
18
v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 109 (1983). Here, the challenged
conduct is not “capable of repetition” within the mean-
ing of the exception because there is no “reasonable
showing” that similarly situated individuals “will again
be subjected to the alleged illegality.” Jd.
Although the President could theoretically issue a
new order (or extend the existing order) in the future,
“{sjuch speculative contingencies afford no basis for
[the Court’s] passing on the substantive issues ... with
respect to the’ now-expired provisions.” Burke, 479
U.S. at 364-365 (quoting Hall, 396 U.S. at 49-50); see
also Rendell v. Rumsfeld, 484 F.3d 236, 242 (3d Cir.
2007) (“[iJt would be speculation upon speculation were
one to attempt a prediction” about possible repetition);
cf. Super Tire Eng’g Co. v. McCorkle, 416 U.S. 115, 123-
124 (1974) (finding policy was capable of repetition be-
cause it was not “contingent upon executive discre-
tion”). And even if any such new order (or extension of
the existing order) might overlap with the one at issue
in these appeals, it would nonetheless require a fresh
assessment by the lower courts of any material differ-
ences in the factual record and evidentiary basis for the
new (or renewed) order. See, e.g., Friends of the Earth,
Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167,
193 (2000) (with respect to actions that “took place af-
ter the Court of Appe7ls issued its decision” and “the
prospect of future violations,” finding that “[tJhese is-
sues have not been aired in the lower courts; they re-
main open for consideration on remand”); Fortson v.
Toombs, 379 U.S. 621, 622 (1965) (declining to resolve
mootness issues arising on appeal where “the situation
19
. changed somewhat” since the trial court’s deci-
sion).!”
Ill. THE Writs Or CERTIORARI SHOULD BE DISMISSED
WITHOUT VACATING THE DECISIONS BELOW
A. The proper disposition of appeals that have be-
come moot turns on the “equitable tradition of vaca-
tur.” U.S. Bancorp Mortg. Co. v. Bonner Mall P’ship,
513 U.S. 18, 25 (1994). The doctrine is “based solely up-
on determining what will be ‘most consonant to justice’
in view of the conditions and circumstances of the par-
ticular case,” including “the nature and character of the
conditions which have caused the case to become moot.”
United States v. Hamburg-Amerikanische Packet-
fahrt-Actien Geselischaft, 239 U.S. 466, 478 (1916)
(quoting South Spring Hill Gold Min. Co. v. Amador
Medean Gold Min. Co., 145 U.S. 300, 302 (1892)); see
also 28 U.S.C. § 2106.
One of the amici before this Court, relying on Unit-
ed States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950), as-
serts that “vacatur is the rule, and letting the lower
court decision stand is the exception.” CJLF Amicus
Br. 16. In fact, the law is to the contrary. As the Court
concluded unanimously in U.S. Bancorp, “i]t is peti-
tioner’s burden, as the party seeking relief from the
status quo of the appellate judgment, to demonstrate
not merely equivalent responsibility for the mootness,
but equitable entitlement to the extraordinary remedy
of vacatur.” 513 U.S. at 26. This principle follows not
‘7 These appeals are also not within the exception for “volun-
tary cessation,” for the straightforward reason that the relevant
provisions of EQ-2 either have expired or will soon expire by their
own terms and as intended. The government “has not voluntarily
ceased anything,” Rendell, 484 F.3d at 243, e.g., by repealing or
declining to implement the contested provisions.
20
only from considerations of fairness, but also because
“{jJudicial precedents are presumptively correct and
valuable to the legal community as a whole. They are
not merely the property of private litigants and should
stand unless a court concludes that the public interest
would be served by a vacatur.” Jd. at 26-27 (quoting
Izumi Seimitsu Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha v. U.S.
Philips Corp., 510 U.S. 27, 40 (1993) (Stevens, J., dis-
senting)). Otherwise, “[t]o allow a party ... to employ
the secondary remedy of vacatur as a refined form of
collateral attack on the judgment would—dquite apart
from any considerations of fairness to the parties—
disturb the ordinary operation of the federal judicial
system.” Id. at 27; see also Alvarez v. Smith, 558 U.S.
87, 94 (2009). Thus, although there are circumstances
where a “Munsingwear vacatur” is appropriate, it is by
no means the default rule or reflexively applied.
B. When considering whether to vacate a lower
court judgment where the case has become moot on ap-
peal, “[t]he principal condition to which [this Court has]
looked is whether the party seeking relief from the
judgment below caused the mootness by voluntary ac-
tion.” U.S. Bancorp, 513 U.S. at 24. In this case, peti-
tioners’ voluntary actions are indeed responsible for the
mootness of these cases, in three respects.
First, the language of the Executive Order itself is
directly responsible for the fact that the challenge at
issue in JRAP has now become moot, and the one in
Hawaii will shortly become moot as well. Section 2(c)
specifically provides that suspension of entry of nation-
als from the six designated countries will last “for 90
days from the effective date of this order,” and Section
6(a) similarly provides for the suspension of refugee
admissions “for 120 days after the effective date of this
order.” The President adopted these time limits ex-
21
pressly with an eye toward litigation. See EO-2, § 1(i)
(“{I]n order to avoid spending additional time pursuing
litigation, | am revoking Executive Order 13769 and
replacing it with this order[.]”). Thus, whereas a hard-
er case might arise when voluntary actions unrelated to
the underlying litigation cause mootness, see, é.g., U.S.
Bancorp, 513 U.S. at 25 n.3, here, there is a direct and
inseparable connection between the two.
Second, the mootness of the government’s appeal of
the injunctions can also be attributed to the separate
voluntary action reflected in the President’s June 14
Memorandum, which purported to alter “the effective
date of each enjoined provision.” JA 1442. That Memo-
randum was a specific and direct response to mootness
concerns that had arisen in the litigation. See id. (stat-
ing that the memorandum was drafted “[iln light of
questions in litigation about the effective date of the
enjoined provisions and in the interest of clarity”). The
Memorandum therefore reflected a decision by the Ex-
ecutive Branch to start the relevant clocks at the mo-
ment the enjoined provisions went into effect—while
maintaining expiration periods that have now expired
or shortly will do so.
Third, although the facts just described created a
manifest prospect that the time periods specified in
EO-2 would run before resolution of the appeal, the
government did not proceed with urgency. Instead, its
litigation choices increased the likelihood of mootness.
For example, when the government noticed its appeal
in IRAP on March 17, 2017, that filing triggered this
Court’s jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1254(1), see Hohn
v. United States, 524 U.S. 236 (1998), and would have
allowed the government to petition for certiorari before
judgment under this Court’s Rule 11 and seek a stay of
the injunction pending the disposition of that petition
22
(and, indeed, the government filed just such a petition
in the Hawaii case). Instead, the government waited
not only until after the en banc Fourth Circuit affirmed
the injunction on May 25, but an additior.ul week there-
after before filing its petition with this Court.
Even then, while the government requested expe-
dited briefing and consideration of the petition, it did
not do so with respect to the merits. This Court took
note. JRAP, 137 S. Ct. at 2086 (“The Government has
not requested that we expedite consideration of the mer-
its to a greater extent.”). Compare Dames & Moore v.
Regan, 453 U.S. 654, 660 (1981) (in litigation arising from
Iranian hostage crisis, granting certiorari before judg-
ment and setting expedited briefing upon Solicitor Gen-
eral’s request); United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683,
686-690 (1974) (government requested expedited brief-
ing, petitioned for certiorari before judgment). The gov-
ernment’s decision not to seek expedited argument,
whether before this Court’s summer recess or during a
special September sitting, guaranteed that at least 90
days would elapse between any relief on its stay applica-
tions and oral argument on the merits—with the moot-
ness consequences outlined above.
When a party decides to invade the legal rights of
another party for only a short period of time—a period
that ordinarily does not allow for the full scope of appel-
late litigation, up to and including this Court's disposi-
tion after full briefing and argument—the offending
party should not be able to have any adverse judg-
ments vacated by virtue of the facts that it chose nei-
ther to extend its conduct nor to seek fully expedited
review in this Court. “The case is therefore one where
the United States, having slept on its rights, now asks
[the Court] to do what by orderly procedure it could
have done for itself.” Munsingwear, 340 U.S. at 41.
23
At its core, Munsingwear stands for the proposition
that “[a] party who seeks review of the merits of an ad-
verse ruling, but is frustrated by the vagaries of circum-
stance, ought not in fairness be forced to acquiesce in the
judgment.” U.S. Bancorp, 513 U.S. at 25. The mootness
of these cases, however, arises not from the “vagaries of
circumstance,” but from the government’s strategic
choices. In such circumstances, the “equitable tradition
of vacatur” does not support that disposition.
CONCLUSION
The writs of certiorari should be dismissed as moot,
and the judgments of the courts of appeals should not
be vacated.
Respectfully submitted.
STEPHEN I. VLADECK SETH P. WAXMAN
727 E. Dean Keeton St. Counsel of Record
Austin, TX 78705 WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP
OMAR A. KHAN 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
JAMIE DYcus Washington, DC 20006
ADRIEL L. CEPEDA DERIEUX (202) 663-6000
RYAN CHABOT seth.waxman@wilmerhale.com
WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
HALE AND DORR LLP MARK C., FLEMING
7 World Trade Center WILMER CUTLER PICKERING
250 Greenwich Street HALE AND DORR LLP
New York, NY 10007 60 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
SEPTEMBER 2017
iy Ss : 7 . —_*
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APPENDICES
la
APPENDIX
AMICI CURIAE SCHOLARS OF
FEDERAL JURISDICTION
This Appendix provides amici’s titles and institution-
al affiliations for identification purposes only. The list-
ing of these affiliations does not imply any endorsement
of the view expressed herein by amici’s institutions.
William D. Araiza
Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
Karen M. Blum
Research Professor of Law
Suffolk University Law School
Joanne C. Brant
Professor of Law
Ohio Northern University Claude W. Petit College of
Law
Zachary D. Clopton
Assistant Professor of Law
Cornell Law School
Brooke D. Coleman
Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Research &
Faculty Development
Seattle University School of Law
Frank Deale
Professor of Law
CUNY Law School
Paul R. Dubinsky
Professor of Law
Wayne State University Law School
2a
Amanda Frost
Professor of Law
American University Washington College of Law
Maryellen Fullerton
Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
Jonathan M. Gutoff
Professor of Law
Roger Williams University School of Law
Harold J. Krent
Dean and Professor of Law
Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College
of Law
Alexandra D. Lahav
Ellen Ash Peters Professor
University of Connecticut School of Law
David S. Law
Charles Nagel Chair of Constitutional Law and Political
Science
Washington University School of Law
Evan Lee
Professor of Law
University of California-Hastings College of the Law
Toni M. Massaro
Regents’ Professor, Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional
Law, and Dean Emerita
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Lumen Mulligan
Associate Dean for Faculty
Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor of Law
University of Kansas School of Law
3a
Yxta Maya Murray
Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
Deborah Pearlstein
Professor of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
Gowri Ramachandran
Professor of Law
Southwestern Law School
Charles W. “Rocky” Rhodes
Vinson & Elkins Research Professor & Professor of Law
South Texas College of Law Houston
Caprice Roberts
Professor of Law
Savannah Law School
Kermit Roosevelt
Professor of Law
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Lawrence Sager
Alice Jane Drysdale Sheffield Regents Chair
University of Texas School of Law
Elizabeth M. Schneider
Rose L. Hoffer Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
Eric J. Segall
Kathy and Lawrence Ashe Professor of Law
Georgia State University College of Law
Joan M. Shaughnessy
Roger D. Groot Professor of Law
Washington and Lee University School of Law
4a
Andrew Siegel
Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Fellow,
Fred C. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
Seattle University Schoo} of Law
Joan Steinman
University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Law
ilinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College
ot Law
Carl Tobias
Williams Chair in Law
University of Richmond School of Law
Stephen I. Vladeck
Professor of Law
University of Texas School of Law
Howard M. Wasserman
Professor of Law
F1U College of Law
Amy J. Wildermuth
Professor of Law
University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.