“A divided three-judge panel on the appellate court agreed with a lower court ruling “
Aren’t there conditions under which a three judge panel’s decision would be forwarded to the full circuit court before going to SCOTUS?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_banc
“Appellate courts in the United States sometimes grant rehearing en banc to reconsider a decision of a panel of the court (typically consisting of only three judges) in which the case concerns a matter of exceptional public importance or the panel’s decision appears to conflict with a prior decision of the court.”