The state of Hawaii, in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s travel ban, requested [motion, PDF] on Tuesday that the entire Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] sit for review of the case. Hawaii is requesting the en banc hearing for the appeal, arguing that this is a “question of exceptional importance.” The state also referred to a similar case on the immigration executive orders which is currently pending in the Fourth Circuit. That court granted an en banc hearing on Monday. The Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear an appeal of its ruling on May 15.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced late last month that it would file an appeal after a Hawaii judge granted [JURIST reports] the state’s request to convert the temporary restraining order blocking the travel ban into a preliminary injunction. The court ordered an expedited schedule [JURIST report] for the appeal of a lower court ruling blocking the Trump travel ban. In March a Washington federal judge who ruled against Trump’s first travel ban declined [JURIST report] to extend the injunction on the revised ban. The DOJ had requested a hold on the appeal proceedings for the first ban in February but later withdrew [JURIST report] it after Trump signed his revised ban.