Arizona is preparing to ask an appeals court to lift a judge's ruling that put most of the state's immigration law on hold in a key first-round victory for the federal government in a fight that may go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Opponents of the law said the ruling sends a strong message to other states hoping to replicate the law. "This is clearly a significant victory for the Justice Department and a defeat for the sponsors of this law," said Peter Spiro, a professor at Temple's Beasley School of Law who has studied immigration law extensively. "They will not win on this round of appeals. They'll get a shot after a trial and a final ruling by Judge Bolton."