Supreme Court invalidates most of Arizona's 'papers please' law, leaves 'papers please' intact

The Supreme Court has struck down three out of four key provisions of Arizona's SB1070, the "papers please" anti-immigration law (decision written by Justice Kennedy [pdf]). What they were deciding:

The court could strike down the challenged provisions as an intrusion on federal sovereignty, uphold them as a legitimate public-security effort by the state, or take a piece-by-piece approach that could leave both sides claiming victory. Some justices at arguments in April suggested they weren't troubled by a section of the Arizona law directing police officers to check the immigration status of people they stop.

That section was one of four at issue before the high court. The others make it a crime for immigrants without work permits to seek employment, make it a crime for immigrants to fail to carry registration documents, and authorize the police to arrest any immigrant they believe has committed a deportable offense.

So the ruling does let police check the immigration status of someone stopped for another reason. For now, Arizona can apply the "check your papers" provision. But the remainder of the law is struck. The decision was 5-3, because Justice Kagan was recused because she had been involved in the case in her prior post as the Solicitor General of the United States.

Adam Bonin will have full analysis later today.