Solicitor General Asks to Argue Aereo Case at Supreme Court

The Justice Department is taking an extra step to bolster its support of TV networks in their Supreme Court case argument that Aereo is illegally retransmitting local TV station signals.

US Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who previously filed a friend of the court brief siding with broadcasters, is now asking to be allowed to argue his view endorsing TV networks stance during high court oral arguments in the case April 22.

The court has yet to make a decision about the request. Cory Andrews, an attorney for the Washington Legal Foundation, which has filed its own friend of the court brief in the case, told TheWrap the move was not that unusual. He said in about 50 percent of cases where the government files friend of the court briefs, it gets time to argue its view. Sometimes the government asks for the time. Other times the court asks the government to act.