Will Supreme Court Take the German Homeschooler Case? Odds Better Than Average, Lawyer Says
The odds that the U.S. Supreme Court will take the case of the Romeikes, a German homeschooling family that the U.S. Justice Department is seeking to deport, are better than average, the family's legal representative, Michael Farris, said Tuesday on "The Mike Huckabee Show".
Farris, who is chairman of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, reminded people, though, that the odds of a case being heard by the Court are about one in 100. So better than average for a case to be heard by the Court, five in 100 or 10 in 100, is still a long shot.
"Being a Baptist like yourself, I don't have the gift of prophecy," Farris joked. "But we have a good case. We have a decent shot. We have all the legal reasons. So, if someone there [in the Supreme Court] wanted to do the right thing, they will have all the proper legal ammunition for them to do so."
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This month, the Romeikes were denied their second appeal for a rehearing of their case before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Farris added that the Obama administration has not explained why they are seeking to deport the Romeikes after a district court judge initially granted them asylum. Attorney General Eric Holder could at any time end the Romeikes ordeal and grant them asylum, Farris explained.
He suggested, though, that "raw politics" could explain the administration's behavior: the National Education Association is opposed to homeschooling and is a strong supporter of the administration. Additionally, Farris remarked, about two-thirds of homeschoolers are politically conservative Christians like himself. For the same reason the administration has gone after Tea Partiers, it has gone after homeschoolers, he suggested.
However, a significant number of homeschoolers, one in three, are not conservative Christians and represent a broad range of the political spectrum.
"There is a broader cross-section of our society represented in the homeschool movement than is sometimes understood," Farris added.
Among the advantages of homeschooling, Farris said, is that all homeschoolers, ranging from conservative Christians to seculars, have the ability to raise their children according to their value system and help them achieve academic success.
Huckabee asked how the Romeikes are doing given their current ordeal.
"They are doing unbelievably well," Farris answered. "... They're really doing well because of their trust in God. They believe it will work out for them."
"We need to call upon God in a special very way for this family," he added. "From a human perspective, we're at the very, very last stages of a very difficult fight. But, God is a big god, and they're trusting Him."
The interview can be heard at MikeHuckabee.com.
