Judge Judith Sheindlin to decide Landis' fate

By Kirk Mawlazes, North American Editor

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced today that a decision in the most recent Floyd Landis vs. USADA arbitration hearing would be impossible to render, due to a lack of openness in the proceedings. The CAS panel said that since no decision will be reached by them in their closed deliberations, they are handing the final decision off to a third-party single adjudicator with the ability and infrastructure to make it as public as possible, to be agreed upon by both parties. And after discussing with each sides' counsel, the judge named is the honorable Judith Sheindlin.

"Both sides are interested in as much public transparency in this case as possible," said court spokesperson Petri Hawkins-Byrd. "We will do our best to make sure a fair decision is rendered and that the public gets to see every aspect of the hearing."

Sheindlin, a former family court judge, has served as an arbitrator for the past 12 years on her syndicated television show Judge Judy. This will be the venue for the final decision and is expected to air as a special month-long series on her program. "Both the USADA and Landis camps have acted like children at times in their previous hearing," Sheindlin said. "So I think it is fitting that a family court judge finish this case."