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The appeal was not the least bit unexpected. The city’s attorneys were intensely — and immediately — critical of U.S. District Judge James M. Munley’s decision from the day it was released last month.
“They say patience is a virtue,” Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said. “Certainly it will mean something in this case.”
The city is not only appealing Munley’s decision, but some of his pre-trial rulings as well, most notably his decision to let several plaintiffs, who are illegal immigrants, sue the city anonymously.
It is “conceivable,” Kobach said, that if the appeals court disagrees with Munley on protecting the identity of the Doe plaintiffs, a new trial could be ordered.
“But frankly, I would still say the odds are likely against it,” Kobach said.
ACLU attorney Witold “Vic” Walczak downplayed the importance of the pre-trial ruling, saying the case hinges on the ordinance’s due process violations and preemption of the federal government’s authority over immigration policy.
“We’ll have to address (the pre-trial rulings), but I don’t think they will play a major role in the appeal,” he said. “I’ve been wrong before but not often in this case.”
Statistically at least, the odds of Hazleton winning on appeal are also slim. Last year, the 3rd Circuit overturned only 15 percent of the lower court decisions it heard. If the 3rd Circuit’s decision is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which both sides have promised to do, the case may take several more years to resolve.
In the meantime, Barletta said the city will find other ways to deal with the illegal immigration problem, which he feels is destroying the quality of life in Hazleton.
“All we can do is continue to enforce the laws that are already on the books,” he said. “If we catch someone who is an illegal alien, we report them to (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and detain them and hope that they are deported.”
wmalcolm@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051
