The U.S. Supreme Court has issued the following order in Trump v. IRAP, No. 16-1436, the Fourth Circuit case challenging the 90-day ban on travel from six countries where the U.S. was unable to properly vet admittees (bold-face added):
The companion Hawaii case from the Ninth Circuit addresses two other provisions in addition to the 90-day ban. A provision limiting the number of refugees in the fiscal year just ended became moot on October 1. A 120-day provision will become moot 120 days from the day the Supreme Court partially lifted the stay on it, which will be later this month. I expect a similar disposition of that case at that time.
We granted certiorari in this case to resolve a challenge to "the temporary suspension of entry of aliens abroad under Section 2(c) of Executive Order No. 13,780." Because that provision of the Order "expired by its own terms" on September 24, 2017, the appeal no longer presents a "live case or controversy." Burke v. Barnes, 479 U. S. 361, 363 (1987). Following our established practice in such cases, the judgment is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with instructions to dismiss as moot the challenge to Executive Order No. 13,780. United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36, 39 (1950). We express no view on the merits.The portion I have bold-faced means that the obnoxious Fourth Circuit opinion is wiped out as precedent. CJLF's brief in the case, which urged precisely this result, is here. At the time of the main briefing, we were the only ones calling for this, although in a supplemental letter brief in response to the Court's request the Solicitor General came around.
Justice Sotomayor dissents from the order vacating the judgment below and would dismiss the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted.
The companion Hawaii case from the Ninth Circuit addresses two other provisions in addition to the 90-day ban. A provision limiting the number of refugees in the fiscal year just ended became moot on October 1. A 120-day provision will become moot 120 days from the day the Supreme Court partially lifted the stay on it, which will be later this month. I expect a similar disposition of that case at that time.
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