Lawyers for seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong argued for more than two hours in federal court in Austin Friday afternoon. But in lieu of a decision, Judge Sam Sparks gave both sides a week to submit final claims in the case.
The case should boil down to jurisdiction. Armstrong’s lawyers asked District Judge Sam Sparks for an injunction against the US Anti-Doping Agency, or USADA. The USADA claims that Armstrong was a part of a doping conspiracy that led to Tour de France victories between 1999 and 2005. They want to ban Armstrong from competition for life and take away his titles.
Armstrong has consistently denied doping. His lawyers claim that the International Cycling Union, or UCI, holds jurisdiction in this case. If any body is to charge Armstrong with doping, his attorneys argue, it would have to be the UCI.
If Judge Sparks’ tone is any indication of where he’s leaning in the case, things might be looking good for Armstrong. At one point during the questioning of the USADA lawyers, Judge Sparks said something about their charge against Armstrong didn’t seem right. He said, and we quote, “I’m not a fisher-person, but I know the smell of bad fish.”
Sparks is expected to have a ruling on whether to grant Armstrong an injunction after reviewing the documents next week.
