Carissa Byrne Hessick

Associate Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick was interviewed by KPNX-Channel 12, Channel 8 and KJZZ-FM regarding the Nov. 1 hearing on SB 1070 before a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Speaking with KJZZ early-morning host Dennis Lambert, Hessick advanced the hearing on Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement bill, which was passed by the Legislature last spring. It is the subject of several lawsuits by, among other parties, the federal government, and parts of it were struck down in July by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton. It was then appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

“It’s a close case, and it involves difficult issues that the U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on very recently,” Hessick told Lambert.

“My bet is the panel will play it relatively cautiously, take awhile writing their opinion, and wait to see what the U.S. Supreme Court signals in the employer sanctions case,” she said.

Later in the morning, Hessick talked about the issues on Channel 12; to watch the interview, click here.

Hessick then appeared on Horizon with host Ted Simons that evening, providing analysis of the court’s reaction to arguments by attorneys for the federal government and for Gov. Jan Brewer. The federal court is considering four sections in the law, and it is “very possible” there will be a split decision on them, Hessick said.

“It’s also important to note that this will probably be a very narrow decision,” she said. “They are not going to talk about sweeping theories on state enforcement. It’s going to be very narrow on these particular sections.”

To listen to the KJZZ interview, click here.

To watch the Horizon program, which includes six minutes of court action and a report from Arizona legislative reporter Howie Fischer before Hessick’s interview, click here.

Hessick teaches Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, and a seminar on sentencing law and policy. Her research focuses on aggravation and mitigation in criminal sentencing, relative crime severity, and other political and doctrinal issues associated with sentencing. She recently completed an article to be published in the California Law Review on the constitutionality of common sentencing factors, as well as an article in the Boston University Law Review on whether military service and other good works ought to be treated as mitigating sentencing factors. Hessick currently is working on a manuscript about the Double Jeopardy Clause.