Mayor Bloomberg's chances to challenge the August court ruling that would overhaul stop-and-frisk appear to be all but over. On Friday, a federal appellate court rejected a motion to reverse the ruling over claims of biased conduct by the judge. While The Wall Street Journal reports that the city can resubmit its claims in March, by then, it'll be too late for Bloomberg: Bill de Blasio is scheduled to take office at the beginning of January, and he's promised to withdraw the city's appeal.

"This marks the end of the Bloomberg administration’s effort to short-circuit the appeals process and undo the district court’s rulings before Bill de Blasio takes office," Christopher Dunn, New York Civil Liberties Union's associate legal director, says in a statement. Though the ruling still remains on hold until the appeals process moves forward, the implementation of stop-and-frisk's court-mandated overhaul will likely be at de Blasio's discretion.

Another party would have to take up the appeal, and while some — reportedly including the NYPD's police unions — are trying to do so, they'll have to be recognized by the court as interested parties first. Dunn doesn't leave out the possibility that stop-and-frisk could still be challenged but the chances are certainly getting slim. “Hopefully, the legal theatrics will now end and we can all go back to the important task of reforming stop-and-frisk," Dunn says.