Protect Arizona Now Files Brief Opposing  Maldef's Request for Appeal
January 11, 2005


Noting that Appellants (Friendly House, et al.) have failed to meet any standards for filing an appeal of an interlocutory order to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals–indeed, even the caption of Appellants’ motion is incorrect–the Protect Arizona NOW (PAN) legal team has filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals another brief in support of Proposition 200 (U.S. District Court –Tucson, Friendly House, et.al. v. Janet Napolitano, et al., and Kathy McKee, et al.)
    PAN lead attorney, Edmund Kahn of Tucson, states, “I think our brief is powerful in pointing out not only MALDEF’s failure to meet the standard for such appeals, which is abuse of discretion, but also stresses how strongly the balance of harms tilts in favor of the citizens of Arizona.  In adopting Prop 200, the people of Arizona determined that border trespassers are causing economic hardship to the State and that Proposition 200 reforms are needed to prevent further undermining of the nation’s borders in addition to further diminution of the value of citizenship.  Thus, the harms to Arizona if an injunction is granted would be immense and are not the kinds of harm that can be compensated by the payment of money.”
    Continues Kahn, “Richard Samp of the Washington Legal Foundation was the lead drafter of this brief.  His scholarly focus on the exact issues at hand and his great writing style are tremendous assets for not only the people of Arizona but lovers of our democracy.  Like PAN itself, none of us are making any money on trying to protect our beautiful state and great country.  This is grassroots patriotism in its finest hour.”
    Concludes Kathy McKee, founder and Chairman of Protect Arizona NOW and intervenor-defendant in the case, “I have worked with attorneys who would have focused on MALDEF’s brief being too long, in the wrong-sized font, etc.  We have had great fortune in having truly great judges in these cases trying to litigate Prop 200 to death, but to have attorneys on the level of Ed Kahn and Richard Samp helping us is almost an epiphany!