April 5, 2017 --

United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson (U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai'i), in rejecting President Trump's executive order temporarily putting a pause on immigration to the United States from six nations beset by terrorist turmoil, apparently took into consideration statements made by President Trump and his aides that the judge understood to be anti-Muslim. Determining that the executive order was discriminatory, Judge Watson cited a statement from the 2005 Supreme Court opinion in McCreary Cty. v. Am. Civil LIberties Union of Ky: "courts may not 'turn a blind eye to the context in which [a] policy arose.'"

Apparently accepting hearsay evidence, Judge Watson turned "a blind eye to the context" in which this executive order, and the President's prior temporary immigration ban, arose.

This context included the determination by the Obama administration that the six affected nations were sources of terrorism. Add to this context the fact of terrorist-based violence, most recently evidenced by the terror outrage in London.

LPR is left to suspect that the judge will accept hearsay evidence to counter actions taken, in the national interest, by the Trump administration, and will reject hearsay evidence of terrorism committed by discrete, violence-prone groups.