Following up on this post, the Ninth Circuit panel hearing the Guam case is Chief J. Kozinski, Judge Schroeder, and Judge Randy Smith.  I think at least Kozinski and Smith will be skeptical of the Guam-based law.

This report from oral argument, however, suggests the court might be able to avoid the merits by holding the case moot. If not…:

Assistant Attorney General Robert Weinberg, speaking on behalf of GovGuam, responded to Martin’s argument, saying that it was important to give Guam’s native population a voice in the island’s future

Judges, however, asked Weinberg how the plebiscite would be any different from a state deciding to hold a “whites-only primary.”

Chief Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski asked Weinberg if he believed a state that tried to restrict voters because of race wouldn’t be “laughed out of court.”

Weinberg said, “Guam is different.”

“We have to look at it differently in context,” he said.