Senate Republicans Get Supreme Court Argument Time in NLRB Recess Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted Senate Republicans argument time on Jan. 13 when the justices hear historic debate over the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.

As a result, the argument in NLRB v. Noel Canning will run 90 minutes instead of the usual 60. Miguel Estrada of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher had asked the court on November 25 for additional time on behalf of his client Sen. Mitch McConnell, (R-Kentucky) and 44 other senators who object to Obama’s appointments. He will have 15 minutes, in addition to the 30 minutes allotted to Noel Francisco of Jones Day, who represents the appellee Noel Canning company, a Pepsi bottler from Yakima, Washington. For balance, the court extended the government’s argument time from 30 to 45 minutes, for a total of 90.

In seeking the extra time, Estrada told the court that the senators have “incomparable interest in the constitutional issues involved,” and an “unmatched stake” in defending the Senate’s prerogatives to establish its own procedures, including when to adjourn. The senators should be given the opportunity, Estrada said, to describe the “adverse separation-of-powers consequences of allowing the Executive to seize control of congressional procedure.”