The hearing comes after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by the administration last week to temporarily pause a lower court order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of the soldiers to the governor who filed a lawsuit over the deployment.
The three-judge panel is set to hear oral arguments via video starting at noon, and protests outside the downtown San Francisco court are expected.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled last week that the Guard deployment was illegal and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority. It applied only to the National Guard troops and not the Marines, who were also deployed to LA.
The Trump administration argued the deployment was necessary to restore order and protect federal buildings and officers.