The U.S. Supreme Court has docketed the request by Blagojevich's lawyers for a stay of his trial, according to the court.
The matter was filed as an emergency petition. Justice John Paul Stevens now has the option to rule on it himself, or pass it on to the entire court. Judgment on the matter is expected to happen fairly quickly.
The request, sent by overnight mail earlier this week, is actually two petitions.
The first is a 20-page petition for a writ of certiorari -- this one would be considered by the full court. The second, a five-page emergency application for a stay of trial proceedings, goes directly to Justice Stevens, who is assigned to matters stemming from Chicago's seventh judicial circuit.
The petitions ask the court to order a halt in the proceedings until it rules on the so-called "Honest Services" statute, under which Blagojevich was charged.
