The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request today to convene an 11-judge panel to rehear the case involving four non-Hawaiian students challenging Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy.

A three-judge appeals court panel ruled earlier this year that the four who expressed fears for their safety could not press their lawsuit anonymously.  

Their lawyers asked the appeals court to set aside that ruling and convene the larger “en banc” panel to rehear the case.

The appeals court said yesterday an appeal judge asked for a vote on the rehearing, but the request failed to get a  majority of votes from judges who had not stepped down from the case.

Chief Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski wrote a lengthy dissent to the denial of the rehearing.