Last month a threejudge panel on the d. C. Circuit court of appeals heard oral argument on the constitutionality of the senates 60vote filibuster rule. The case is common cause v. Joseph biden. It seeks to have the 60vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster thrown out and replaced with a simple majority rule. The Lower District Court had dismissed the case saying common cause lacked standing to sue. The oral argument runs about half an hour. Good morning. May it please the court, im emmet bondurant, and with me is Steve Spaulding who is staff counsel with common cause. The District Court in this case and ruling on the standing issue here in three very fundamental respects that prejudice the courts entire view of the issue of standing. First, the District Court did not presume that the plaintiffs are entitled to prevail on the merits of their constitutional claims. He ruled precisely the opposite, citing that that is the rule, he ruled that he was not convinced that the plaintif