J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge.
The claimants have requested a three-judge panel in the present action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2284. The defendants agree that the plaintiffs are entitled to a three-judge panel. Accordingly, a three-judge panel will be convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2284. The Court has notified Chief Judge William J. Riley of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and Chief Judge Riley has notified the Court that Circuit Judge Lavenski R. Smith and District Judge Susan Webber Wright have been designated to serve on a three-judge panel, along with the undersigned.
The Court orders the parties to confer pursuant to Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and submit a report by 12:00 noon on February 10, 2012, with a proposed schedule for expedited discovery, along with a proposed schedule for trial deadlines and an expedited trial on the merits, including consideration of whether a hearing on the plaintiffs' request for preliminary injunction should be consolidated with the trial on the merits. The report should include the items identified in Local Rule 26.1. To the extent that the parties can agree on a schedule, the parties should submit a joint report with their recommendations. To the extent that the parties disagree, they may submit separate reports and state their separate views with respect to scheduling and the reasons for their proposals.