The Fourth Circuit has set a briefing schedule in Greenville County Republican Party v Greenville County Election Commission, 13-2170. This is the lawsuit filed by the Greenville County Republican Party, which wants to nominate its candidates in a primary that is only open to Republicans. The party’s brief is due January 27, 2014; the government’s response is due February 28; the party’s reply brief is due March 14.
The somewhat similar case filed by the Hawaii Democratic Party, pending in the Ninth Circuit, is not as far along as the South Carolina case. The Ninth Circuit still hasn’t made a determination that the Hawaii lawsuit can’t be settled by arbitration.
Since the District Court dismissed the case on grounds that the county party did not have standing, can the 4th circuit address the merits of the case, or would they only remand the case to the district court if the county party was found to have standing?