SCOTUSblog On The Sixth Circuit

Lyle Denniston writes at SCOTUSblog:

The challengers in the cases in the four states of the Sixth Circuit now have two legal options: First, they can ask the full Sixth Circuit bench (the en banc court) to reconsider their cases. If it does so, the panel decision released Thursday would be wiped out and the en banc court would start fresh. The loser at that level could then seek Supreme Court review.

Second, the challengers can now move directly to the Supreme Court; they do not have any legal obligation to seek further review in the Sixth Circuit. If they take that path, it would be up to the Justices to decide whether to review the Sixth Circuit’s ruling, and it would take the votes of only four of the nine Justices to agree to hear the case.

One argument for going directly to the Supreme Court has already been made, by advocacy groups and lawyers on both sides of this constitutional controversy: that is, that now is the time to get the constitutional issue resolved, once and for all.

If the challengers wait until the Sixth Circuit went through en banc review (assuming that option were granted), the issue almost certainly would not reach the Supreme Court for consideration in the current Term. Other courts of appeals are considering the issue, but they are moving more slowly and thus almost certainly would not decide their cases in the current calendar year.

If a case is filed with the Justices soon, by contrast, it could be heard and decided before the Justices complete this Term early next summer. Any case that the Justices accept for review by mid-January almost certainly would be decided in the current Term.

The ACLU has already announced that they will appeal the Ohio case directly to SCOTUS.