Federal Judiciary

Gulf drilling case hearing due

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

Displaying some sense of urgency about the legal controversy over deepwater oil well drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the Fifth Circuit Court on New Orleans moved ahead on Tuesday with the Obama Administration’s defense of its six-month moratorium, ordering briefing and setting an early hearing date on whether to put the drilling suspension back into effect.  A federal judge has ruled that the moratorium is not justified, and has blocked it, but the Administration last week asked the Circuit Court to stay that ruling.  The Louisiana businesses that oppose the moratorium had not yet replied to the stay request.

Apparently acting on its own, the Circuit Court told the challengers’ lawyers to file a brief on the stay issue by this Friday afternoon, and added that it would appreciate an even earlier filing, if it could be done.  The government may reply by July 6, if it wishes. The Court set a one-hour hearing for the afternoon of July 8, in New Orleans.   No delays will be granted, it said.  Because the foes of the moratorium had won an injunction against it, they had no need to move with dispatch in response to the Administration’s appeal to the Circuit Court, filed last Friday.   The state of Louisiana did move swiftly, to oppose any reinstatement of the moratorium, filing a brief to that effect on Saturday.  The Circuit Court accepted that brief on Tuesday as part of its effort to move the case along.

The case will be heard by a three-judge panel, including W. Eugene Davis, Jerry E. Smith and James L. Dennis.   They will be reviewing the government’s bid to undo the injunction issued on June 22 by U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman of New Orleans.   The judge had put his order into effect immediately, and then refused a government plea to stay it while the appeal went forward.  The dispute now centers, according to the government, on 33 well-drilling operations in the Gulf.  Government lawyers have argued that those wells have some of the same characteristics as the Deepwater Horizon well that exploded, and continues to dump oil into the Gulf’s waters after 70 days.  The state of Louisiana has countered that the government is exaggerating the threat.

It is now widely assumed that, either way the Circuit Court rules, the issue would move on to the Supreme Court quickly.  Any such pleas to the Supreme Court would go first to Justice Antonin Scalia, the Circuit Justice for the Fifth Circuit.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on June 29, 2010 (boomark / email).