On April 8, 1997, the United States Court of Appeals upheld the California Civil Rights Initiative (Proposition 209), enacted by Californians as Article I, Section 31, to their Constitution, which provides in relevant part:

“The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of... public education....” Coalition for Econ. Equity v. Wilson, 110 F.3d 1431, 1434 (9th Cir. 1997)

I started immediately preparation of my fourth motion for an order to terminate jurisdiction, along with an order that the Board modify its integration program to comply with current constitutional standards. It took me until early July to complete my memorandum; obtain declarations from the President of Groundswell and a “disgruntled” parent; and arrange for the filing of supporting amicus / interested persons briefs from Senator Kopp and Assemblyman Baldwin.

On July 3, I phoned the court clerk for a hearing date in open court, but had overlooked that the present court procedure called for decisions on such motions to be telephonically ruled upon. The Court allowed me to make an ex-parte request for a public hearing, after service on opposing counsel, to be ruled upon after a telephonic conference, thus saving me a 120-mile round trip.