SCOTUS Blog : Andrew Pincus has argued twenty-three cases before the Supreme Court. He is a former Assistant to the Solicitor General (1984-1988) : "A win for the government and for the Solicitor General Donald Verrilli on SB 1070" - Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

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The Supreme Court's decision on SB 1070 opens the door to future challenges.  The Court’s opinion thus leaves for the future many of the arguments that the government and its amici advanced.

SCOTUS Blog
Online Symposium: A win for the government and for the SG
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012


By Andrew Pincus

Andrew Pincus, a Partner at Mayer Brown, has argued twenty-three cases before the Supreme Court. He is a former Assistant to the Solicitor General (1984-1988).

Online Symposium: A win for the government and for the SG


Some excerpts :

First, this is a big win for the United States.

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Although the Court did not invalidate the fourth part of the law, which requires police officers to determine the immigration status of anyone stopped or arrested (if there is a reasonable suspicion that the individual is unlawfully present within the United States), it flagged some significant problems that undoubtedly will be the subject of future litigation. The Arizona courts received a pretty clear message that this provision must be narrowly construed:  officers may not detain individuals solely to verify their immigration status, and detention may not be prolonged to complete the immigration inquiry.  Also, the Court pointed to the Arizona law’s specific statement that it may not be applied in a discriminatory manner or in a way that otherwise violates the Constitution – which opens the door to future challenges.  The Court’s opinion thus leaves for the future many of the arguments that the government and its amici advanced.

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But Verrilli brought home an important victory for his client.  We can’t tell whether it was the briefs, or the argument, or some combination of the two (and we won’t know for many decades, until the current Justices’ papers are opened to the public – and maybe not even then). What we do know is that it was the legal principles on which Verrilli focused that convinced five members of the Court in a very hard-fought, high-profile case.  And that is a pretty effective day’s work for any Supreme Court advocate.

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