Judge Terry Doughty

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will now hear oral arguments Aug. 30--slightly earlier than expected--in the injunction appeal brought by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Both entities are defendants in an underlying lawsuit that alleges unconstitutionality and federal rulemaking procedure violations regarding HISA's initial framework of regulations that went into effect July 1. The Appeals Court docket previously indicated a September oral argument date was being planned. At issue in the appeal is whether a lower...

A federal judge on Thursday opted not to immediately grant the "expedited consideration" restraining order or injunction that opponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) alleged was needed to stave off the "irreparable harm" from "illegal rules" that are set to go into effect at midnight Friday. But within several hours of learning June 30 that Judge Terry Doughty of U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) had given HISA and other defendants two weeks to file a response to the restraining order motion, the lead plaintiffs from...