Motions by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of S.B. 1070 were denied by a federal judge on Friday.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton will allow the lawsuit, led by Phoenix advocacy group Friendly House and the American Civil Liberties Union, to proceed.
Bolton found that the arguments by these groups that portions of the controversial law may violate the Fourth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution could stand. Unreasonable search and seizure is prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. Under the 14th Amendment, unequal treatment for different classes of people or racial discrimination is also forbidden.
Bolton did grant some of Brewer’s motions, however, rejecting arguments by the ACLU that forbidding undocumented immigrants from soliciting work violated the First Amendment and that the language of the law was unconstitutionally vague.
“Although not every ground for every claim has survived the motion to dismiss, the major claims are alive at this point,” Omar Jadwat, the attorney representing the ACLU, said.
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