Columbus, OH — On Friday (Jan. 10), the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to conference on pending petitions regarding the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. The court will be considering cases from three different circuit courts.
The cases are from the Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Circuit courts.
In the Fifth Circuit, the court twice found that HISA is unconstitutional.
In the Sixth Circuit case that involved the U.S. Trotting Association, several states, the world’s largest racing equine breeder, and Indian tribes among the plaintiffs, the Supreme Court denied certiorari.
In that case, the USTA was represented by Gibson Dunn, a major international law firm the specializes in Supreme Court litigation.
A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit upheld HISA on the Sixth Circuit’s reasoning, with one dissenting judge agreeing with the Fifth Circuit that HISA should be struck down.
For a petition to move forward, at least four justices must agree to grant it, and if granted, the full Court will then hear and decide the case.
The decision from Friday’s conference, which is expected to be announced on Monday (Jan. 13), makes it possible that the USTA case will return to the Supreme Court docket.