At 10:19 a.m. this morning, the state Education Department filed an “emergency petition” for an immediate stay of proceedings in the lawsuit challenging the state’s takeover of the Little Rock School District.

The hearing is underway in Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen’s court, who’s dismissed several motions by the state as efforts to string out the proceedings. Testimony on a preliminary injunction request began with Jim Ross, one of the School Board members when the state Board of Education abolished the board and took over. He has been talking about positive efforts the district had been making.

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The Supreme Court is said to be considering the request.

They will look a little funny injecting themselves into this “emergency” — which has only a bureaucratic impact whichever way it turns out — while sitting on their hands on the marriage equality case for what is now four months without a ruling.

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The state argues for an emergency halt because it contends it will eventually prevail on its argument that the state is immune from this lawsuit, an argument Griffen has rejected.

UPDATE: Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed an answer to the state’s emergency motion asking that it be denied. It said Griffen had properly decided the state immunity question in saying sufficient facts had been introduced for evaluating at trial.

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No action by the Supreme Court at the end of the day.

Griffen took a full day of testimony (see later post by Benji) and will resume tomorrow. 

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