The Chrysler Stay: Reading the Tea Leaves
Andrew M. Grossman /
The talk shows last night were all atwitter over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s grant of a temporary stay for the Supreme Court to consider the application for an emergency stay of the sale of Chrysler to a government-backed shell corporation.
What do we know this morning? A few thoughts:
- The only thing we know for sure is…the Court needs more time. A temporary stay does not provide any direct indication as to how the Court will rule on the application.
- That said, this is an unusual move. Temporary stays are relatively rare outside of the death penalty context. Ginsburg, and likely the Court as a whole, are giving this issue extra attention, perhaps due to its importance in terms of law as well as economic consequences–in other words, the government’s fear-mongering may have done it a disservice.