U.S. District Judge David Ezra today told attorneys for the schools and for the boy, Brayden Mohica-Cummings, that he wanted time to consider the arguments made today so that he could rule independently of yesterday’s decision favoring the schools’ admissions policy in a similar case.

Both sides also must wait for the court to decide whether Mohica-Cummings, a Kaua'i seventh-grader temporarily admitted to Kamehameha, can remain there pending appeals of the decision.

In another case yesterday, U.S. District Judge Alan Kay ruled that Kamehameha was not in violation of federal law by giving preference to Hawaiians. That case was brought by an unnamed Big Island student. At issue in both cases is the standard for judging the policy against a civil rights law that bars racial discrimination in contracts.

Spokespersons for both sides said later they found no omen in Ezra’s decision not to hand down an immediate decision.

"I’m pleased in the sense that Judge Ezra is obviously taking great care in this case," said Eric Grant, lead counsel for Mohica-Cummings, who remained at school today and was represented in court by his mother, Kalena Santos. "That’s all a lawyer can hope for."

"We were glad we were able to make our arguments," said Kamehameha lawyer Crystal Rose.

The schools’ legal team in the courtroom was led by Kathleen Sullivan, a constitutional law expert.

The decision will come down to which argument Ezra accepts.

Sullivan argued the school has more leeway in using a preferential policy because it is a private institution receiving no government funds.

Grant argued that the 1866 civil rights law on which his case is based makes no distinction between private and public entities in its prohibition of racial discrimination.

Grant said later that Ezra seemed to place a greater emphasis than Kay did in examining the recent Supreme Court decision restricting affirmative action at the University of Michigan, asking Sullivan to spell out what made the Kamehameha case different.

Sullivan restated the schools’ position that the university is a public institution and is held to a higher standard; that the university did not have the same "remedial" mission as Kamehameha, which seeks to bring Hawaiians onto a level playing field; and that Michigan lacked the lengthy record of support from Congress in passing laws that permit programs and benefits exclusive to Native Hawaiians.

Ezra complimented both attorneys after the hour-long hearing concluded, explaining that the need to consider their arguments precluded ruling from the bench, as Kay did yesterday.

"I appreciate that ruling from the bench can be gratifying," he said to the packed courtroom. "But sometimes instant gratification can end up less than gratifying down the road."

After the hearing, the trustees gathered to thank supporters, who turned out to cheer again, though in somewhat smaller numbers than yesterday.

"We knew that we would be in this for the long term," said Constance Lau, who chairs the school’s board of trustees. "We remain steadfast and committed to our mission."

Grant and Santos, who also appeared before cameras, were targets of some derogatory remarks from the crowd, shouts that he should "go back to California."

"That was unfortunate," said trustee J. Douglas Ing when the trustees emerged.

Rose said the school would honor the decision of the court regarding Mohica-Cummings’ status pending appeals. "We work in the best interest of the students, and that includes Brayden," she said.