There’s been some movement in Brett Kimberlin’s two appeals attacking some of his Speedway Bombing convictions. Kimberlin had filed motions in the first case asking of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to appoint a freebie lawyer to handle oral argument in the case, to appoint another freebie lawyer to file an amicus brief supporting Kimberlin, and to combine that appeal with a second one he has filed. The court denied all three motions.

The court has also set a briefing schedule for the second appeal.

The Gentle Reader may have seen the Scheduling Notice at the bottom of the Briefing Order. It says that arguments for criminal appeals are usually put on the courts schedule “shortly after the filling of the appellant’s main brief.” Kimberlin filed his main brief in July, and the case hasn’t been scheduled for oral argument yet. That could mean that the court is busy and hasn’t found a slot for the case yet. It could also mean the the judges believe the case can be decided on the arguments presented in the briefs—which could explain the denial of Kimberlin’s request for a lawyer to handle oral argument. Similarly, the judges may see that law is sufficiently well defined by the briefs and case law that an amicus brief wouldn’t be helpful. Finally, the court may see the issues raised in the two appeals as sufficiently different to require them to be considered separately.

The ball’s in the court’s court.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE—It would seem that these appeals must have sufficiently distracted Kimberlin that he dropped the election protection ball in Virginia.