By T. D. Thornton
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit required fewer than 24 hours to shoot down a request made Monday by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to delay the issuance of that court's mandate that the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act is unconstitutional.
The Authority had asked the appeals court to hold off on making the mandate official while the Authority petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and decide the current HISA constitutionality conflict that exists because of clashing opinions out of two separate federal appeals courts.
The Fifth Circuit responded right away the very next morning, Tuesday, Sept. 17, by issuing a two-paragraph order that stated, without elaboration:
“IT IS ORDERED that Authority Appellees' opposed motion to stay the mandate pending disposition of petition for writ of certiorari is DENIED.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Authority Appellees' opposed alternative motion for a 21-day administrative stay to seek stay relief from the United States Supreme Court is DENIED.”
In Sept. 16 court documents, the Authority had signaled its intent to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.
But until that Fifth Circuit mandate issues–perhaps within the next several days–no one knows the scope of its reach.
Thus, it's possible the Authority's petition could go before the Supreme Court with HISA nullified in either the Fifth Circuit states alone (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi), or maybe even across the entire nation.
The Fifth Circuit panel opined July 5, 2024, that HISA's enforcement provisions are unconstitutional, while a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel opined in a different case Mar. 3, 2023, that Congressional changes to the law in 2022 made HISA completely constitutional.
When two federal appeals courts issue opposing opinions on the same legal matter, it's called a “circuit split,” and the Supreme Court generally takes heightened interest in resolving such conflicts.
The 3 1/2-year-old lawsuit that led to the Fifth Circuit's opinion is headed by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and 12 of its affiliates.
The losing legal entities in the Sixth Circuit case, led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana, have already asked the Supreme Court to have another look at the conflicting appeals court opinions.
Eric Hamelback, the chief executive officer of the NHBPA, told TDN on Tuesday that his organization expects the Authority to abide by the Fifth Circuit's ruling.
“The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, with extraordinary speed, denied the HISA Authority's motion requesting a stay being issued for the mandate of its judgement dated July 5, 2024,” Hamelback wrote in an email. “The Authority's request for the motion for stay to be heard by all the Fifth Circuit Judges ('en banc') was also denied [back on Sept. 9].
“The Fifth Circuit decision finding HISA unconstitutional is now final and the HISA Authority should immediately stop enforcing this unconstitutional Act before additional harm is done, or additional litigation becomes necessary to stop this unlawful activity,” Hamelback wrote.
“As was said before, the Authority should not be able to enforce federal law and run over the constitutional rights of horsemen and women by allowing a private corporation to bypass their constitutional protections,” Hamelback wrote.
TDN requested comment from an Authority spokesperson, but that query did not yield a reply prior to deadline for this story.
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