I asked state Rep. John Walker at his news conference Thursday afternoon for a reaction to the decision earlier in the week to dismiss his lawsuit against the state alleging racial motives in the state takeover of the Little Rock School District.

Judge Price Marshall didn’t dispute a number of the facts Walker presented for his theory, including acknowledging the damage the proliferation of charter schools has done to white enrollment in the district, but he said they were as likely a product of political decisions as racial ones and didn’t prove an “intention” to discriminate.

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Walker had not responded to calls for comment. He said his arrest Monday by Little Rock police had otherwise occupied his time and he had not fully studied Marshall’s opinion, issued two days later. But he said his legal team wasn’t known for giving up easily on a fight, which seemed to indicate the battle would continue  through an appeal. He added:

“There’s no federal judge who’s always right.”

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I was a little surprised he didn’t use the occasion to tie the school case into his earlier remarks characterizing racially discriminatory policing as a product of policies favored by city leaders and the business community. That same argument lies at the core of his arguments over the school district takeover.