Lottery Will Pick Court to Hear Biden Shot-or-Test Challenges

The fate of the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccination-or-testing rule may depend on the federal appeals court that hears the legal challenge to the emergency standard—and that tribunal will initially be chosen via a lottery, according to federal rules for multi-circuit litigation.

The emergency regulation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has already attracted four petitions for review from states with Republican attorneys general, which were filed in four circuits on Friday. Challengers have a 10-day window to file their petitions so they can be included in the lottery, which will determine which circuit court gets possession of the ...