U.S. top court declines request to revive Arizona immigration law

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact an appeals court ruling from last year that struck down an Arizona law that denied bail to illegal immigrants charged with certain felonies.

The justices rejected an appeal filed by Maricopa County and its controversial sheriff, Joe Arpaio. Three of the court's conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito, said they would have heard the case. Four of the nine justices must agree to hear a case for the court to take it up.

The court's action means the October 2014 ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the 2006 law is unconstitutional, is the final word in the case.

Thomas wrote in an opinion joined by Scalia that the court's refusal to hear the case "shows insufficient respect to the state of Arizona, its voters and its constitution."

The court's action "suggests to the lower courts that they have free rein to strike down state laws on the basis of dubious constitutional analysis," Thomas added.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/01/us-usa-court-immigration-idUSKBN0OH2L920150601