With various parties clamoring to intervene in the instant racing case, the Idaho Supreme Court issued an order today allowing Gov. Butch Otter, Coeur d’Alene Racing and Treasure Valley Racing to file “friend of the court” briefs in the case, but not to participate in oral arguments. That’s all Otter had asked. Coeur d’Alene Racing, operator of the Greyhound Park Event Center in Post Falls, wanted to both submit a friend of the court brief and participate in arguments; Treasure Valley Racing, operator of Les Bois Park near Boise, wanted to intervene as an official party in the case and participate in the arguments.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe had objected to the two companies’ bids to participate, while both of them argued they have a big financial stake in whether they’re allowed to continue operating slot machine-like instant racing machines. The tribe said its dispute is with Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney over the proper procedure to follow after a veto, and had nothing to do with the racing companies’ finances. This morning, Treasure Valley Racing filed a six-page reply to the tribe’s objections, saying it has “substantial interests that will be impaired” if the tribe wins its challenge.

The tribe wants the court to order Denney to certify SB 1011 as law, which would outlaw the instant racing machines. It contends Gov. Butch Otter’s attempted veto of the bill after lawmakers passed it was invalid because it came after the constitutionally-set five-day deadline for vetoing a bill.

The court, in its order this afternoon, ran down the list of all the filings in the case thus far. It said the three approved amicus, or friend of the court, parties must submit their briefs within 14 days. The tribe and Denney will have another 14 days after that to respond, and oral argument will be set “as soon thereafter as practical.”