Lungren Will Ask U.S. Judge to Reconsider Prop. 187 Ruling

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren will ask a federal judge, probably today, to reconsider her ruling that gutted Proposition 187, the measure that would deny illegal immigrants many public services, sources said.

The state’s motion will argue that U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer made a substantial legal error in rejecting a provision that denied illegal immigrants the right to go to elementary and secondary public schools.

Pfaelzer cited a U.S. Supreme Court precedent in her ruling. The state, however, said that precedent had not been raised by the opponents of the measure, and the government had been improperly denied an opportunity to address it.

Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said the state’s chances of winning were “less than zero. . . . I think they are misreading her decision.”