US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

An application to stay the District Court's order -- which requires applicant Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations imposing nationwide time limits for the adjudication and appeal of Social Security disability benefits claims -- is granted pending the timely filing and subsequent disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' judgment affirming the District Court's order. At least four Justices would probably vote to grant certiorari here, since the Court has already granted the Secretary's petition for a writ of certiorari in another case involving judicial imposition of statewide time limits on the disability adjudication and appeal process. Furthermore, the balance of equities clearly weighs in favor of a stay, and prudence dictates that implementation of the District Court's order await this Court's decision in the case involving statewide time limits.