Donald Trump: Who is 'travel ban judge' James L Robart and why did he block the immigration order?
Updated
Judge James L Robart has made headlines after blocking the US President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. But who is he, and why might his ruling have shocked the Trump administration?
The 69-year-old judge was appointed to the bench by then-president George W Bush in 2004, following a distinguished 30-year career in private practice that included his selection to the American College of Trial Lawyers, an honour bestowed on less than 1 per cent of lawyers.
He is described as holding conservative legal views, has a record of helping disadvantaged children that includes fostering six of them, and dramatically declared "black lives matter" during a hearing on police reform in 2015.
But the judge made the most high-profile ruling of his tenure on Friday when he temporarily invalidated Mr Trump's ban on travel to the US from seven primarily-Muslim nations.
Washington state sued to block the order with support from Minnesota and major corporations including Microsoft, Amazon and Expedia, arguing that it is unconstitutional and would harm its residents, and Judge Robart held that the state was likely correct.
The ruling did not sit well with Mr Trump:
Judge Robart's views
For those who are unfamiliar with Judge Robart's history of practicing law, his ruling against the executive order may have come as a shock, but for colleagues and friends of the esteemed lawyer, it was no great surprise.
Colleagues weigh in:
"Jim [Judge Robart] will give a wry smile, maybe adjust his bowtie a little bit and go back to doing his business," said former Seattle US attorney John McKay, who worked with Judge Robart for a decade.
"He is conservative in his review of the law, but courageous in his application of it."
Another former Seattle US attorney, Jenny Durkan, described what it was like practicing law with Judge Robart:
"We won some in front of him, and we lost some in front of him. But we knew anytime we walked into his courtroom we'd better be prepared."
He is considered a tough sentencing judge in criminal matters — especially in cases involving white-collar defendants.
He issued a landmark decision in a lawsuit between Microsoft and Motorola that provided guidance in how to calculate reasonable rates for use of another company's patents.
And he has overseen reforms at the Seattle Police Department since 2012, when it agreed to make changes in response to Justice Department findings that its officers were too quick to use force, especially in low-level situations.
Judge Robart was holding a hearing in that case in summer 2015 a time fraught with tension over violence by and against police officers around the country when he surprised the courtroom by adopting the mantra of protesters.
"The importance of this issue to me is best demonstrated by the news," he said, shaking his head and sighing heavily.
"According to FBI statistics, police shootings resulting in death involve 41 per cent black people, despite being only 20 per cent of the population living in those cities," he said.
"Forty-one of the casualties, 20 per cent of the population: black lives matter."
During Friday's hearing Judge Robart grilled a Justice Department lawyer, Michelle Bennett, asking if there had been any terrorist attacks by people from the seven counties since the September 11 attacks. Ms Bennett said she didn't know.
"The answer is none," Judge Robart responded.
"You're here arguing we have to protect from these individuals from these countries, and there's no support for that."
He donated to the state Republican party and to GOP candidates before becoming a judge, but he was picked for the bench with the help of a bipartisan selection panel.
He helped lead his law firm's efforts to provide free legal services to those who couldn't afford them, and he served as president of Seattle Children's Home, which offers mental health services and special education for at-risk children.
And as US Senator Patty Murray, noted during his confirmation hearing, he and his wife had fostered six children themselves.
ABC/AP
Topics: immigration, community-and-society, us-elections, united-states
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