With the regular-season approaching, we have received a few questions about the status of Pat and Kevin Williams’ court case and whether a ruling is expected anytime soon.

The obvious concern among Vikings fans is that the Pro Bowl defensive tackles lose their case and thus are forced to sit out four games for violating the NFL’s anti-steroid policy. Star Tribune staff writer Rochelle Olson, who has done an excellent job covering this case, wrote on Aug. 19 that the chairwoman for the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals said the three judge panel that most recently heard arguments from the NFL and the Williamses’ representatives would rule in “due time, keeping in mind the start of the season.”

Here is Rochelle’s story from that day.

Considering the complex nature of this case, and the fact that all most people care about is if and when this situation is going to be resolved, it should be noted that a ruling by the three panel judge does not mean this case will be complete. In fact, regardless of how the judges decide, the losing side is likely to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

The legal system being what it is, that means there is an excellent chance this case is going to drag on right through the football season and into 2010.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.