In a U.S. District Court this morning, Judge Mary L. Cooper (3rd District/Trenton division) said she would provide her decision in the civil case brought by the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association against the U.S. government in 30 days or less.
In June, iMEGA announced that it would file a complaint seeking a temporary restraining order, which, if granted, would prevent the government entities responsible for issuing regulations for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from doing so.
iMEGA Founder and spokesman Joe Brennan told IGN shortly after the hearing today that its legal team, represented by Phil George of Eric M. Bernstein & Associates, "spent a good deal of time establishing the potential jeopardy that iMEGA's members and affiliates may find themselves in with regard to this law."
Brennan, who was present in the court room, said that Cooper seemed to acknowledge that this was "an interesting situation against a very complicated backdrop," and that she would take oral arguments given by both sides under consideration.
When the government presented its arguments, Brennan said Jacqueline Coleman Snead, a trial attorney with the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Division, spent a considerable amount of time contesting the validity of iMEGA's First Amendment challenge as well as the organization's associational standing.
A source with IGN also attended the hearing. Having overheard a conversation between George and reporters, the source said that George felt Cooper was well-prepared and had "clearly read the documents."
"Our legal team feels very, very good, very confident, so there should be a decision within 30 days or less," Brennan said.