Petition for Rehearing En Banc Filed for HLF Case

Jan 4, 2012 -- This morning, attorneys for the Holy Land Foundation sent the Muslim Legal Fund of America a copy of the petition for rehearing en banc (a request for a rehearing of an appeal by all sitting judges instead of a panel of three judges) and explained the next steps in the appeals process.

The Fifth Circuit asked the government to respond to the petition by January 24. After that, it may take the court a few months to decide whether to grant a rehearing. The attorney's anticipate that we may not hear an answer on the petition until July or later. 

If the court grants a rehearing, it will likely request supplemental briefs from both sides followed by oral arguments before the full court. After the oral arguments, the en banc court will deliberate and announce its decision. The deliberation may also take  a few months. 

The petition for rehearing en banc, which summarizes the errors made in the HLF trials, is attached below: