Injunction in Jeremy Mayfield case likely to be rescinded after appeals court ruling
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The U.S. District Court judge who initially granted an injunction that lifted driver Jeremy Mayfield’s suspension for what NASCAR says was a May 1 drug test that was positive for methamphetamines now likely will be the one who rescinds the injunction.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided Friday to send NASCAR’s appeal of the July 1 injunction back to District Court Judge Graham Mullen, who has since indicated that he would rescind the injunction based on new evidence and injunction standards.
That, according to court filings, would be fine with Mayfield, who never did get back on the track after obtaining the July 1 injunction and having his suspension lifted. The appeals court granted NASCAR’s request for a stay of the injunction July 24, and Mayfield has been suspended since then and has sold his team.
After Mayfield won the injunction, NASCAR obtained another urine sample from Mayfield on July 6 that NASCAR says also tested positive for methamphetamines. Mayfield has filed documentation from a test he said he took within an hour of the NASCAR test, and the independent sample was not positive for methamphetamines. That was among new evidence that NASCAR had used to ask for Mullen to rescind the injunction, and Mullen indicated that because of the new evidence and new injunction standards, he would be inclined to rescind the injunction but said the appeals court had jurisdiction.
Mayfield has asked to have the injunction issue sent back to Mullen so it could be dropped and the case can move quickly. The earliest a trial would be is September 2010, and the only consequence for not having the injunction is that Mayfield would not be able to race in NASCAR until a decision is made at trial.
NASCAR had wanted the appeals court to take up the injunction because it wanted certain issues in the case decided before the case continued into the investigation and trial phase. While it didn’t get what it wanted, NASCAR will now not have to fight to keep Mayfield off the track while the case continues.
"This is another win for NASCAR's substance abuse policy, and it supports the initial suspension,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.
Mayfield, who qualified for five of the first 11 Sprint Cup races this season after starting his own team and has 433 career series starts, is the only Sprint Cup driver who has failed a random drug test this year.
“[Mayfield’s] primary interest is to get this case heard by a jury as quickly and efficiently as possible … and [Mayfield] states categorically that he will not oppose any effort to vacate the preliminary injunction going forward; nor will he seek again the preliminary injunctive relief previously ordered by the District Court,” Mayfield attorney Dan Marino wrote in a filing Wednesday. “Thus, this appeal is completely moot. and the matter should either be remanded to the district court or dismissed outright.”
