Update: More here from the Star-Advertiser.
Courts, as “temples of justice” can be intimidating places, especially for the advocates who appear there. And when you make it a federal court, the level goes up. And when you are in a storied courthouse such as the Ninth Circuit’s headquarters in San Francisco surrounded by corinthian columns, cherub statues, and a ceiling full of stained glass, it certainly can be a heady experience.
Today was no different as a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in the federal environmental challenge to Honolulu’s multi-billion-dollar heavy rail project. The panel, comprised of Judges Stephen Reinhardt and Andrew Hurwitz, and Senior Judge Mary Schroeder, was “hot,” and for the most part kept firing questions at the three advocates over the course of the nearly hour-long arguments. As we noted in our initial post-argument report, the panel spent
