Pearce's bid to join immigration lawsuit is denied

Oct 29, 2010 6:04am

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request by the chief sponsor of Arizona's new immigration law to be a party in the federal government's legal challenge to the law.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton also denied requests by Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever and former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack to intervene in the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit.

State Sen. Russell Pearce, Dever and Mack wanted their lawyers to defend the law.

Bolton explains in a ruling issued on Thursday that Gov. Jan Brewer's lawyers are already mounting a defense of the law.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Monday in Brewer's appeal of a ruling by Bolton that blocked enforcement of the most controversial parts of the law.

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