The United States Supreme Court has applied the brakes, at least temporarily, to a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling declaring unconstitutional enforcement rules adopted by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
At issue after the Fifth Circuit's ruling was whether it should enter a mandate or wait for further legal developments. It decided to issue a mandate, a document declaring the case final and sending it back to a lower court for further action.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito put the mandate on hold Sept. 23 in response to a 43-page application filed by HISA four days earlier. Alito's order requires the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which along with affiliates persuaded the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule against HISA, to file a response to the application by Sept. 30, when presumably Alito will again look at the matter.
HISA and the Federal Trade Commission are expected to petition the Supreme Court for a review of the Fifth Circuit decision. According to the American Bar Association, filing a such a petition would not automatically stay the mandate, but "(a) frequent reason for seeking a stay ... is where the relief on appeal includes a remand (to a lower court) so that the remand proceedings do not begin before any Supreme Court review."
Alito's order is by its own terms "administrative" and thus does not telegraph his or the high court's view of the issues expected to be reviewed.
