After her bid to adopt little Chifundo Mercy James was denied by the Malawian court earlier this month, Madonna immediately filed an appeal of that decision in the hopes that the Supreme Court of Malawai would take up her case and overturn the decision. Today we learn that Madonna‘s case has been accepted by the Supreme Court as they have issued a date to hear her appeal … Maddy‘s case will go before the court to undergo appeal on May 4:

A three-judge Supreme Court of Appeal panel will convene on May 4 to hear an appeal filed by Madonna against an April 3 Malawi High Court decision to stop her from adopting 3-year-old Malawian girl Chifundo “Mercy” James. Joseph Chigona, registrar of the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, said Monday, “As with all court cases involving infants, this one will be in chambers, not in an open court.” Alan Chinula, Madonna’s Malawian lawyer, said he already has presented grounds for his appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal and was hopeful. “We believe the lower court judge erred by basing her judgment on an archaic law of over 50 years ago,” he said. According to Chigona and Chinula, the singer is not required to be present during the appeal, which may last for two weeks.

Now, I’m not entirely versed in the ways of the Malawian court system but in our country the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of any legal dispute that is brought before them so I assume the same rings true in Malawi. That would mean that whatever decision is handed down by the Supreme Court will be the final say in this matter, period. I suppose the matter of the little girl’s paternity still needs to be determined since at least one man, James Kambewa, has stepped forward to claim her as his biological daughter in the wake of Madonna‘s adoption bid. I’ve not heard if Kambewa passed DNA tests to prove his paternity but barring any of that, I suppose the Supreme Court will have to rule whether or not the residency requirement in place for adoptions in that country should stand or not. Since the court can take two weeks to deliver their decision after the case is brought before them (on May 4), we should have answer once and for all concerning this adoption by the end of next month.

In other Madonna news, we learned yesterday that Maddy suffered a horse-riding accident when she fell off the horse she was riding while in the Hamptons, NY. Madonna‘s camp is blaming the accident on the paparazzi who they say “spooked” the horse by taking photos. TMZ spoke with the sole paparazzo who was there and he vehemently denies that he had anything to do with Madonna‘s accident. After the jump, check out a couple photos of Madonna‘s accident got by The New York Post (who broke the story of Madonna‘s accident on Saturday night) and the denial by the pap of his involvement in her accident …

Madonna was one “Lucky Star” yesterday, miraculously suffering only minor injuries after taking a nasty spill while horseback riding at a celebrity photographer’s Hamptons manse. The 50-year-old pop queen, decked out in full riding gear and helmet, was enjoying the beautiful spring day at famed lensman Steven Klein’s horse farm in Bridgehampton … In the wake of the titanic tumble, more than 10 people, including her Brazilian boy toy Jesus Luz, 22, rushed to her side. Rescue workers, who arrived minutes later, scooped up the “Like a Virgin” songstress and gingerly carried her on a backboard to a waiting ambulance, which raced to Southampton Hospital. Klein was by her side. She suffered only minor injuries and bruises but will undergo further tests and will remain under doctor’s observations, her spokeswoman said. There were no photographers near Madonna at the time of the stumble.

HMMM … since there were no photogs near her these photos must’ve been snapped from a long way off with a telephoto lens both before and after her accident, which would support the paparazzo’s claim to TMZ that he had nothing to do with her accident:

The paparazzo who claims he was the only pap around when Madonna fell off her horse on Saturday says he isn’t to blame for her fall — and he claims Madonna’s peeps are straight up lying about what went down. We spoke with the photog who tells us he shot Madonna before and after she fell — but was not there for the actual fall. He tells us he took pics of her riding and then left. About 30 minutes later, he says he got a tip about an ambulance being sent out for a 50-year-old woman — so he put two and two together and went back to snap pics of her being tended to. He says all his photos were taken from a public road and the only other photog around was Stephen Klein — the famous photographer whose house Madonna was at.

Whatever the case, here’s hoping that Madonna quickly recovers from her reported minor injuries so that she can get back on the horse, as it were, and bounce back from this accident … after all, she’s got an adoption appeal to tend to in Malawi. Rest well, Maddy! Get well soon!!

[Source, Source]