The bank's efforts to stop the criminal action pending against it, using the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Doctrine, which bars actions against foreign states, was unsuccessful, at both the District Court (SDNY) and appellate (2nd Circuit) levels. Both lower Federal courts held that the Commercial Activities Exception applied, and ruled that the case, which includes a money laundering count, could proceed.
Now, the bank's counsel is asserting that he has a trial in another case about to start in March, and the case is expected to take six weeks, with extensive pre-trial proceedings pending. He is also alleging that the Halkbank case presents very complex issues, which infers that the preparation of the petition will require a substantial amount of time.
The most interesting part of the Application for an Extension of Time is counsel's reference to Conflict Certiorari as the vehicle through which he apparently intends to be successful with the petition. When the decisions of two or more Federal appellate courts on the same issue are in direct conflict, the High Court can take jurisdiction to resolve the issue. Conflict Certiorari is a favored method of gaining access to the Court, but the conflict must be recognized by the Court.
Generally, SCOTUS grants these applications for additional time. Halkbank's request was filed on January 24. The Court granted the request, extending the time to May 13, 2022; see the extract from the Sup Ct website below:
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
| Jan 25 2022 | Application (21A373) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from March 15, 2022 to May 13, 2022, submitted to Justice Sotomayor. |
| Main DocumentLower Court Orders/OpinionsProof of Service | |
| Jan 31 2022 | Application (21A373) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until May 13, 2022. |
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