The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a brief decision Tuesday denied Abu-Jamal's request for a rehearing of his latest appeal.
Abu-Jamal's lawyer, Robert R. Bryan of San Francisco, says he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case.
Abu-Jamal, who is black, has argued in numerous appeals that he is the victim of a racist judicial system.
He has been on death row since being convicted of killing Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner. The officer was shot to death in 1981 after pulling over Abu-Jamal's brother in an overnight traffic stop.
Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com