Equal Protection Tag

Affirmative Action at Austin: Take 2

Posted 18 Aug 2015 in Case Notes, Commentary

If you were going to bet on the outcome of a Supreme Court case—much less the Court’s reasoning—you should avoid the Fisher case. It’s anyone’s best guess. For the second time the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the University of Texas at Austin’s race-conscious admissions policy is unconstitutional in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.

Same-Sex Couples Have A Constitutional Right to Marry

Posted 26 Jun 2015 in Case Notes, Commentary

Obergefell v. Hodges will be celebrated and condemned internationally. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy the Supreme Court held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. All state laws and court decisions banning same-sex marriage are now invalid.

Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted 16 Jul 2014 in Monday Morning Review

Here are last week's published decisions involving local governments, a couple days late this week:

Second Circuit E.M. v. New York City Dept. of Ed., No. 11-1427 (July 11, 2014) (in IDEA case, concluding that district court improperly concluded that IEP was adequate by relying on retrospective evidence extrinsic to the IEP). Fourth Circuit Lefemine v. Wideman, No. 13-1629 (July 11, 2014) (reversing determination that successful plaintiff in 1983 First-Amendment case was not entitled to attorney's fees).

Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted 30 Jun 2014 in Monday Morning Review

Here are last week's published decisions involving local governments:

First Circuit Snyder v. Gaudet, No. 12-1422 (June 25, 2014) (In 42 U.S.C. 1983 action alleging violation of equal protection because city applied zoning restriction differently to Snyder than to prior owner, granting qualified immunity to defendants because right was not clearly established):

Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling Likely To Affect Local Government

Posted 25 Apr 2014 in Case Notes, Commentary

The Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action ruling should be viewed through the lens of public employment not just public universities.

In Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action the Supreme Court held 6-2 that voters may by ballot prohibit affirmative action in public universities admission decisions. While this case was limited to the use of race in public university admission decisions, Michigan’s constitutional amendment also prohibits the use of racial-preference in state and local government employment and contracting. Presumably, these provisions are also constitutional. As NCSL’s Affirmative Action: State Action chart describes, a number of states prohibit the use of affirmative action in local government employment and contracting. In 2003 in Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger,

Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted 03 Mar 2014 in Monday Morning Review

Here are last week's published decisions involving local governments:

Sixth Circuit

Rorrer v. City of Stow, No. 13-3272 (Feb. 26, 2014) (reversing grant of summary judgment to City and against plaintiff, a terminated firefighter with a non-work-related injury, on ADA claim; affirming grant of summary judgment for City on First Amendment and ADA retaliation claims).

Seventh Circuit

Bryant v. City of Chicago, No. 13-1142 (Feb. 28, 2014) (in appeal of dismissal of civil-rights suit as untimely, finding that district court abused its discretion by disregarding plaintiff's timely discovery request and that court should have equitably tolled the statute of limitations).
Hayden v. Greensburg Comm. Sch. Dist., No. 13-1757 (Feb. 24, 2014) (ruling that policy requiring boys, but not girls, playing basketball to keep their hair cut short constitutes sex discrimination

Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted 24 Feb 2014 in Monday Morning Review

Here are last week's published decisions involving local governments:

Third Circuit

M.R. v. Ridley School District, No. 12-4137 (Feb. 20, 2014) (finding under Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act that for "stay put" period: (1) school district must reimburse parents for private-school costs even if parents do not file a claim for payment until after a court has ruled for the school; and (2) the parents' right to interim funding extends through the time of judicial appeal.).

Fourth Circuit

Stevenson v. City of Seat Pleasant, No. 12-2047 (Feb. 21, 2014) (finding, inter alia,

Monday Morning Review: Local Governments in the Federal Appellate Courts

Posted 17 Feb 2014 in Uncategorized

Here are last week's published decisions involving local governments: Seventh Circuit

Wilson v. Cook County, No. 13-1464 (Feb. 10, 2014) (affirming summary judgment for County on equal-protection, due-process, and Title VII claims arising out of alleged sexual-harassment in the workplace).

Ninth Circuit

Retired Employees Association of Orange County, Inc. v. County of Orange, No. 12-56706 (Feb. 13, 2014) (affirming

Fourth Circuit: Can a County Limit Waste Disposal to Public Landfills?

Posted 03 Dec 2013 in Case Notes

A County ordinance provides that waste generated in the County can be disposed at only a single location -- a publicly owned landfill:

The dumping or depositing by any person at any place other than at the designated facilities of any acceptable waste generated within the County is prohibited.

The County crafted the ordinance to further many public benefits: to conserve resources, to prevent pollution, and to protect the public health, safety, and well-being. For the public landfill, the ordinance also ensured a revenue stream. But for a private landfill operator located just two miles from the County line, the ordinance was a real problem. The ordinance led to a significant decrease in its business. The operator sued the County. It argued that the County ordinance violates the dormant-commerce clause and the equal-protection clause of the federal constitution. Is the operator correct? In Sandlands C&D LLC v. County of Horry, No. 13-1134 (Dec. 3, 2013), the Fourth Circuit ruled against the operator. It upheld the district court's grant of summary judgment for the County. Applying the Supreme Court's decision in United Haulers Ass'n v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, 550 U.S. 330, 346 (2007), the court ruled that

Equal Protection Tag

Important Links