Several months after being granted standing to sue by a judge in New Jersey, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association has indicated that the deadline for the organization to file its brief in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is at the end of September. iMEGA President Ed Leyden told PokerNewsDaily.com, “We’re diligently working on preparing our case and we will file by the end of next month.” iMEGA is suing to declare the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act unconstitutional on the grounds that it violates privacy rights in the United States. iMEGA was formed in 2007 “with the goal of working constructively and cooperatively with government at all levels, and other concerned citizens and corporations, to continue the remarkable growth of the Internet, and to promote innovation, openness and freedom as the path to even greater benefit of this medium for all,” according to its website, iMEGA.org.
The organization, all told, will have taken about 90 days to prepare its brief for the Third Circuit Court, which covers parts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in the United States. Therefore, according to Leyden, the U.S. Government will have “equitable time” to file its own case. This means that, in all likelihood, the materials for iMEGA’s suit will not be in the court’s hands until the end of 2008. From there, Leyden noted, “The Third Circuit Court does not publish who your three judge panel is until after you file your case. Then, a schedule is set for oral arguments.”
Once the case is officially filed, other organizations can file “amicus briefs.” These are third parties that will side with either iMEGA or the Government in order to give the three judge panel enough information to decide a case accurately. Leyden commented, “Anyone who files an amicus could also file for an extension. When you’re dealing with complex issues with a very busy federal court, the wheels of justice tend to move slowly. We do expect that other parties will become involved in filing amicus briefs. If someone does file an amicus, they have a right to ask for an extension.”
All told, iMEGA expects its case to last “deep into 2009.” The organization announced that it had filed notice in the Third Circuit Court on April 1st. One month earlier, Judge Mary L. Cooper of the U.S. District Court of the District of New Jersey, granted iMEGA standing to sue, but disagreed with many of the arguments that Leyden and company made. At the time, Eric Bernstein, iMEGA’s attorney, commented “We believe Judge Cooper missed the opportunity to affirm Americans’ online privacy rights and we plan to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. However, her honor’s decision significantly undercuts the federal government’s argument that UIGEA is a well-drafted, effective and enforceable law.”
Within the last few weeks, the online poker world witnessed the introduction of HR 6663 by Texas Republican Pete Sessions, which interprets the UIGEA to mean that only online sports books are against federal law under the currently legal climate. However, Leyden has not yet taken a stance on the issue: “We’re not commenting on it. We believe that the remedies to fix the deficiencies in the UIGEA are to be found in the court system. We brought this case forward in order to have the Judicial Branch cast its proper constitutional eye on this matter and to pass judgment. “