The Justice Department on Thursday joined the state of Arizona in urging a federal appeals court to put review of the state’s new alien control law on a fast track.  The Department, however, asked for a different briefing schedule than the state had proposed.  The U.S. response is here.

The state earlier Thursday had filed its plea in the Ninth Circuit Court for expedited review of a federal judge’s decision blockint parts of the state’s law from taking effect earlier that day.  It suggested that briefing be completed by Sept. 2, with an oral argument to be held in the week of Sept. 13.   The Justice Department argued that the Circuit Court’s existing rule for such cases provided the proper schedule, giving each side more time to prepare merits briefs than the state had reocmmended.   The rule, it argued, “fully accommodates the interest in achieving expedited review, without needlessly foreshortening the time for preparing the parties’ appellate briefs in this important case.”

Under the rule, the Department said, briefing would be completed by Oct. 7, with oral argument scheduled after that at the Court’s “earliest convenience.”   The state, it argued, has made no caae for cutting about in half the time for preparing merits briefs in the case.

It will be up to the Ninth Circuit’s motions panel to decide on a briefing and argument schedule, assuming that expedited treatment is granted.