United States Fourth Circuit

District court's failure to adequately explore the return of predominantly one-race schools as a vestige of segregation rendered its findings insufficient to conclude that defendant achieved unitary status, violating a twenty-six year-old U.S. Supreme Court Order.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/27/2001
• Decided 11/30/2000
• Published 11/30/2000

Judges

• Before WILKINSON, Chief Judge, and WIDENER, WILKINS, NIEMEYER, LUTTIG, WILLIAMS, MICHAEL, MOTZ, TRAXLER, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:Stephen Luke Largess, James Elliot Ferguson, II, Ferguson, Stein, Wallas, Adkins, Gresham & Sumter, P.A., Charlotte, NC;  John W. Borkowski, Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Washington, DC, for Appellants. Allan Lee Parks, Parks, Chesin & Miller, P.C., Atlanta, GA, for Appellees. ON BRIEF:  John W. Gresham, C. Margaret Errington, Ferguson, Stein, Wallas, Adkins, Gresham & Sumter, P.A., Charlotte, NC;  Elaine R. Jones, Director-Counsel, Norman J. Chachkin, Gloria J. Browne, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., New York, NY;  Allen R. Snyder, Maree Sneed, Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Washington, DC;  James G. Middlebrooks, Irving M. Brenner, Amy Rickner Langdon, Smith, Helms, Mulliss & Moore, L.L.P., Charlotte, NC;  Leslie Winner, General Counsel, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, Charlotte, NC, for Appellants.  Kevin V. Parsons, Parks, Chesin & Miller, P.C., Atlanta, GA;  John O. Pollard, McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe, Charlotte, NC;  William S. Helfand, Magenheim, Bateman, Robinson, Wrotenbery & Helfand, Houston, TX;  Thomas J. Ashcraft, Charlotte, NC, for Appellees.  Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Mark L. Gross, Rebecca K. Troth, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae United States.  Michael Crowell, Lisa Lukasik, Tharrington Smith, L.L.P., Raleigh, NC;  Allison B. Schafer, General Counsel, North Carolina School Boards Association, Raleigh, NC;  Julie K. Underwood, General Counsel, National School Boards Association, Alexandria, VA, for Amici Curiae Associations.