Who are the three judges who will decide on Donald Trump's travel ban?

Trump-travel ban split large trans

Donald Trump's travel ban now hangs in the balance, with three San Francisco-based judges weighing up whether the ban should be reinstated, or kept on hold.

The three - Judge Richard Clifton, Judge Michelle Friedland and Judge William Canby - have been described as one of the most diverse judicial panels ever to be assembled.

Having heard an hour of oral arguments on Tuesday - with both representatives from the department of justice and Washington state, which brought about the blockage of the ban, laying out their arguments - the three judges could issue their ruling as early as Wednesday.

 

On Wednesday morning Mr Trump tweeted his frustration at the delay, saying the US will "never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics!"
 So who are the three judges?

Judge William Canby

The most senior of the three, he was appointed in 1980 by Jimmy Carter.
The 85-year-old from Minnesota studied law at Yale and in Minnesota, before going on to teach constitutional law at Arizona State University.
He usually sits in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Judge Richard Clifton

Appointed by George W. Bush, Mr Clifton, now 66, was approved in 2002.
Originally from Hawaii, he graduated from Princeton and Yale and served as a law clerk since 1975.
He is currently the only ninth circuit judge from Hawaii.

 

Judge Michelle Friedland

The newest judge on the panel, she was appointed by Barack Obama in 2014.

Before joining the bench the 44-year-old Californian worked in a San Francisco law firm.

She has been honoured for her pro bono work challenging Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that made same sex marriage illegal.