Arguments in NFL appeal scheduled for June 3 in St. Louis - Ingles

The NFL's motion for an expedited appeal was granted by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, with the date for oral arguments set for June 3 at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis.

The NFL's opening brief is due May 9, with the players' response brief due on May 20, and the league's response to that due May 26.

The case will be heard by Judges Kermit Bye, Steven Colloton and William Duane Benton. Bye, a President Clinton appointee, was the dissenting judge of the three when the NFL was granted a temporary stay of the injunction Judge Susan Nelson granted to lift the NFL lockout. Colloton and Benton are President George W. Bush appointees.

The judges still have yet to rule on the full stay of the injunction, which would allow the owners to maintain the lockout -- keeping players from working out at team complexes, free agents from being signed or trades from happening -- until the judges rule on the appeal.

The order said that on June 3 each side will have 30 minutes to present their oral argument.

This hearing schedule is extremely swift for the 8th Circuit, and the date for oral arguments is one that’s not on the normal hearing schedule -- a concession made to move things along. Clerk Michael Gans said that a case taken now “normally wouldn’t be heard until October or November and, for a Court of Appeals, that’s pretty quick.”

Expediting the hearing is all-encompassing, meaning the ruling will be made as quickly as possible -- maybe as early as mid-June. Gans said that when the ruling actually comes is “anyone’s guess,” but “my understanding is we’re giving every aspect of this priority.” (source NFL.com)