Students' Attorney Files Notice of Appeal in Redistricting Suit Against Lower Merion School District

In the newest development of Students Doe vs. Lower Merion School District, a notice of appeal of a previous ruling has been filed to the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania.

The notice informs the district court that the plaintiff's intend of appealing the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The students' attorney, David Arnold, plans to contest the decisions of a federal district court judge who ruled in June that the school district broke no laws as a part of their redistricting decisions in 2009 that divided parts of predominately African-American South Ardmore between Harriton High School and Lower Merion High School.

The plaintiffs contended that the district inappropriately used race as a deciding factor in their redistricting decisions, violating the students civil rights. U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson found that the school board used race as one of several motivating factors in their redistricting decisions, but did not break any laws, according to Philadelphia Inquirer reports of the earlier trial.

Arnold's notice of appeal announces plans to contest the judge's decisions on a number of points, including the denial of a new trial on Aug. 19, as well as the ultimate decision in favor of the defendant, findings of fact, conclusions regarding prior case law and a motion to deny the testimony of four of the defendant's witnesses.

If the notice is accepted as timely, the next step would be the submission of a appellant's brief detailing the issues presented for review, a summary of arguments and the nature of relief requested.

The U.S. Court of Appeals, as an appellate court, hears arguments using the records from the trial court as fact, and does not hear original testimony. All arguments made at the appeals level are made by legal representation. The U.S Court of Appeals is the second highest level of federal courts in the U.S., behind only the U.S. Supreme Court.