DC9: Still re-opening tonight. (Photo: Jay Westcott)

A final effort on the part of activists connected to D.C.'s Ethiopian community to halt tonight's re-opening of DC9 has failed. A three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied a petition, filed by Roger Gordon, requesting an injunction to prevent the bar from opening tonight. Gordon is a self-described community activist who's been part of the protests held against the embattled nightclub since the beginning.

Gordon also asked the Court of Appeals to review the ABC Board's decision to allow the bar to re-open, and it's not yet clear if the court will even agree to do that. In addition to denying Gordon's request for an injunction "on the merits," the panel of judges also ordered Gordon to "show cause why his petition for review should not be dismissed since petitioner lacks standing to appeal the respondent's decision since petitioner was neither a party nor participated in the proceedings before the Board."

In his original petition, Gordon argued that DC9 "poses a threat" to the health and safety of the Ethiopian American community, but it seems the judges weren't buying it. He also outlined a number of reasons why the court ought to review the liquor board's decision, including that D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier's request to have DC9's liquor license revoked is still pending. But before the court can even take up any of those concerns, Gordon will have to come up with an argument as to why they should listen to him in the first place.

The full petition, response from the D.C. government, and the court's initial denial are all posted below.

DC9PetitiontoHaltOpening