 Earl lifted the gag order, which he had imposed, right before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was able to rule on a petition to overturn it.The National Pork Council and the North Carolina Pork Council filed an amicus brief in support of the petition to the Court of Appeals.They argued that gag orders have to be carefully crafted to be constitutional, that there was no compelling need for such an order in these cases, and that the order issued was vague, overbroad, and ineffective.