U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer will proceed with evaluating Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s (D-CA) claims that President Donald Trump‘s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated a federal law preventing troops from being used for regular law enforcement activities, despite an appeals court ruling that Breyer could not pause the use of the troops.

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit blocked Breyer’s previous pause on Trump’s federalization of the National Guard after Breyer said the president unlawfully took over it.

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After the appeals court took jurisdiction over those claims, Breyer requested briefs from California officials and the Justice Department on whether they believed he could still rule on Newsom’s claims that the deployed troops violated the Posse Comitatus Act by engaging in civilian law enforcement activities. In an order filed late Wednesday evening in California, Breyer ruled that he has that authority and ordered some discovery to be permitted in the case.

“Both parties posit that the Court does retain that jurisdiction,” Breyer wrote in his order. “Upon review, the Court agrees. The Court may proceed with the case, including by hearing arguments on the propriety of a preliminary injunction on Posse Comitatus Act grounds and by allowing discovery.”

Breyer said he would consider a preliminary injunction on Newsom’s allegations that the Trump administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act following a timeline requested by California officials. Their briefing requested responses and depositions be completed by July 11 and a supplemental briefing be filed by July 15.

The DOJ said if discovery were granted, the case should be moved from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, arguing the latter venue is “where the relevant events occurred and the witnesses work.”

“This case’s filing in San Francisco is plainly the product of forum shopping, and California cannot credibly claim otherwise,” the DOJ brief said, noting Los Angeles, where the National Guard was deployed earlier this month, is in the central district of California.

NEWSOM PUSHES FEDERAL JUDGE TO CONSIDER NEW PAUSE ON TRUMP NATIONAL GUARD USE

Breyer rejected the DOJ’s request, arguing that “judicial efficiency” does not favor moving the case and that the northern district should retain it.

Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this month to quell violence that spilled out of protests against federal immigration enforcement operations. The troops have remained in the city and the surrounding area, guarding federal property and immigration officers.