Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn the injunction placed on SB 1070, the state's controversial immigration law. Earlier today, the governor's spokesman informed CNN of her potential legal options. Her "legal team could ask the full 9th Circuit to revisit the issue, take the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, or choose to do nothing at all," said the spokesman.

"Doing nothing" didn't appear to be a likely option, and now Brewer settled on appealing to the Supreme Court. As the Associated Press notes, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously refused to overrule a lower court's ruling that put "key parts" (like police being able to inquire about immigration status on "reasonable suspicion") of the law on hold.

Time is of the essence. By appealing this case straight to the U.S. Supreme Court, rather than back to the Ninth Circuit Court, there is greater likelihood that legal questions surrounding SB 1070 will be resolved quickly so that the law can begin to do its job. The state of Arizona has until July 11, 2011, to file its official petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. It will likely be late September or early October before the court announces whether it will hear the case.

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Erik Hayden