Ohhhh a source says that they believe their will be a trial. Apparently the judge really has dug into the Doe case? David Arnold apparently was brilliant. Some woman named Judith Harris claims there is no cause/case for believing in racism. She is from the other side apparently?

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L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers/Man is born free, yet he is everywhere in chains.–Jean Jacques Rosseau. The Social Contract, 1762

Bruce Reed, as well as all LM commissioners who supported the Unified Slate, the School Board and LMSD should be toast.

Emails between school board members regarding race? Active consideration of race at high levels of administration?

Didn't the lawyer for LMSD, as in Judith Harris, deny all this in their motion to have the case thrown out?

I hope MLMN did on FOIA request to get the response to the motion for summary judgment by the Doe children.

The only thing I would be worried about is when you think the judge is on your side due to statements/body language, judges often rule against you.

They do this to make you feel they made a fair ruling even though they have a personal agenda.

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Brotherhood of Thieves ~ As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.

via e-mail a moment ago:

Overall I think a good day for Plaintiffs Doe. Judge gave a lot of weight to those sealed exhibits. Some direct quotes out on Twitter. Defendant's lawyer Judith Harris is a bulldog in court - very aggressive. Yet, she never did answer some of the most direct questions from the Judge and he noticed. Both attorneys get to file supplementary briefs (10 pages double spaced no footnotes) within a week then he'll rule.

I don't think the District's going to get it based on the Judge's own comment that there's evidence of active consideration of race at high levels of the administration. Plus apparently a ton of emails where SB members are discussing impact of the plan on the black community (we didn't see them but plaintiff's attorney rattled off like 5 or 6 exhibits referencing this).

Plus that "Scenario 1" referenced in LMSD's rebuttal brief? You know, the one that says "rejected due to racial imbalance". That was apparently done by a committee of both SB members and administrators - not the consultant alone in a vacuum. Consutant apparently said this in depo.

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L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers/Man is born free, yet he is everywhere in chains.–Jean Jacques Rosseau. The Social Contract, 1762

active consideration of race at high levels of administration - Judge

Called it!

Should be enough to trigger strict scrutiny review. Bodes well for the plaintiffs.

Rich Ilgenfritz of the MLT posted an article today.

By Richard Ilgenfritz

A federal judge may soon decide if a civil lawsuit in the Ardmore redistricting case against the Lower Merion School District can go to trial.

If it can, that same judge may ultimately have to decide if there was a racial aspect to the district’s decision to send students living in Ardmore to Harriton High School.

Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia, Federal District Judge Michael M. Baylson heard arguments from both sides as to whether the case should be able to proceed to trial under the current schedule. If it moves forward, opening arguments could begin in about three weeks.

The suit, filed by a group of Ardmore parents last May, centers on whether the Lower Merion School District used race as a determining factor when its board ordered students living in part of Ardmore to attend Harriton.

The arguments heard in Thursday’s hearing centered on a motion filed by the district last December. The motion asked Baylson to toss out the parents’ case for a lack of merit.

In January, David Arnold, attorney for the parents, filed a motion arguing against the district’s request. What is contained in his motion remains unclear because Arnold asked the court to keep all of those documents under seal. That means only the judge and the attorneys can read them.

Although Thursday’s hearing still did not fully answer what specifically is in the sealed documents, Arnold’s argument gave an indication that e-mails and other documents sent between board members and administrators show race as a factor in the redistricting plan.

Arnold said there are 83 exhibits that he has filed with the court and many of them have information that shows that the district used race to make its decision.

Judith Harris, with the firm Morgan, Lewis, Bockius and the district’s lead attorney in the case, argued the district did not single out black students for redistricting. Instead she said all students living in Ardmore who also live outside of the predetermined walk zone were redistricted regardless of their race.

After hearing back-and-forth arguments from both attorneys for about an hour, Baylson told both sides that they had one week to submit briefs highlighting their most important arguments. He will likely make his decision on the district’s motion sometime after those new briefs have been filed.

“[This is an] interesting and challenging issue,” Baylson told the attorneys shortly before the hearing ended.

Now, who can spot the error in Ms. Harris' argument as written above?

As always these are my thoughts alone and not representative of any organization I'm a member of. They're mine alone, like 'em or not.

"I hope it will be said we taught them to stand tall & proud, even in the face of history & the future was made new & whole for us all, one child at a time." - Brian Andreas

What do you think the legal expenses for the LMSD are in a month on this case alone?
Somebody give a guess?