Opening arguments in the appeal began December 7, 1988.[72] The defense argued that the Council lacked standing to bring the suit; Combs rebuffed this argument and cited statistics that ranked Kentucky as the most illiterate state in the nation to show how inequitable financing had adversely affected the state's students.[72] On June 8, 1989, the court handed down a 3–2 ruling declaring Kentucky's entire public school system unconstitutional and giving the General Assembly until the end of their next legislative session, which would convene in January 1990, to create a replacement.[73][74][75] Commenting on the ruling, Combs said "My clients asked for a thimble-full, and [instead] they got a bucket-full".[73]