According to Above the Law, the order in the golf course case has been withdrawn, but the question it raised is still very much alive. The report indicates that DOJ lawyers will show up for the case, yet signing the brief is another matter entirely. That distinction points to a deeper tension between appearing as counsel and formally endorsing the arguments in the filing.
The withdrawal of the order may have removed an immediate obligation, but it does not resolve the professional and ethical considerations that made signing problematic in the first place. For the lawyers involved, the choice to appear in court without signing the brief suggests a careful line-drawing exercise—one that the withdrawn order has left for another day.
As the case proceeds, the unresolved question will likely continue to hover over the proceedings: whether the lawyers' willingness to appear can be reconciled with their reluctance to sign. For now, the report suggests, the golf course case remains a notable example of how formality and substance can diverge in legal practice.