Opinion ID: 194830
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: claimed errors of law

Text: In an effort to sidestep clear-error review and take shelter in the lee of a more accommodating standard, the Lenns attribute two errors of law to the court below. They contend that the court (1) applied the wrong legal yardstick in taking the measure of the hearing officer's findings; and (2) failed sufficiently to address each of Daniel's identified educational needs in determining the adequacy of Portland's proposed IEP. We discuss these contentions seriatim. 8
Appellants' flagship claim is that the lower court affirmed the hearing officer's decision without conducting the independent evidentiary review that the IDEA requires. The claim founders: the record below contains all the earmarks of a suitably deferential, yet suitably independent, judicial inquiry. The linchpin of this conclusion is the district court's opinion. In it, Judge Brody explains a reviewing court's duty, canvasses the pertinent authorities, and acknowledges the relationship between the hearing officer's findings and the district court's oversight function, concluding that while [the district] court must make an independent ruling, [its] review must be something short of de novo. Lenn v. Portland Sch. Comm., No. 92-0011-P-H, slip op. at 6 (D. Me. Dec. 14, 1992) (D. Ct. Op.). The court's discussion could hardly be more pointed or more accurate. In the face of this pellucid prose, appellants have an uphill battle. They argue that, although the district judge gave lip service to the correct standard, he actually viewed the evidence through a much more deferential glass. We recognize that actions sometimes speak louder than words. Thus, a trial court cannot satisfy its oversight obligation in an IDEA case by reciting the catechism of independent review and then failing to practice what it preaches. But when, as now, a trial court delineates the proper rule of decision, citing book and verse, the burden of demonstrating that the court is merely mouthing 9 empty platitudes rests with the party who mounts the accusation. This is a heavy burden; it cannot be carried by perfervid rhetoric or glib wordplay. To prevail on such a theory, the accuser must offer solid indications that the district court in fact strayed from the straight and narrow. After all, an appellate tribunal ought not lightly assume that a federal trial judge is indulging in the adjudicatory equivalent of a shell game. In this instance, we think the accusation that the