[JURIST] US District Judge James Spencer Tuesday denied a US Department of Justice [official website] request to hold additional hearings [JURIST report] on the impact an impending shutdown of the BlackBerry [product website] wireless email network could have on government agency operations. A lawyer for plaintiff company NTP Inc. said that the order indicates that the judge seeks to end the case quickly. A remand hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday, where arguments will be presented on whether to grant NTP's request for the shutdown.

Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court declined to review [JURIST report] a ruling [PDF text] by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upholding the trial court's 2003 finding [PDF text] that RIM violated NTP's patent. Analysts have predicted that a US settlement between RIM and NTP could total $1 billion. CNET has more.