Law Commons^™

The Americans With Disabilities Act In The Unionized Workplace, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores the issues raised by application of the ADA in the organized employment setting. The Article begins with an overview of the statute and then analyzes its applicability in the unionized workplace. In addition to recommending changes in the statute and regulations to clarify the obligations of employers and unions under the ADA, the Article makes recommendations with respect to judicial interpretation of the statute in three major areas. In Sections III C through E, the Article analyzes the circumstances under which the union should be held liable for discrimination, recommending that courts assess liability based on the …

Untenable, Unchristian, And Unconstitutional, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Tobias provides an account of the ultimately successful 1960 efforts to desegregate the Petersburg, Virginia Public Library.

A Road Less Traveled To A Federal Era, John Paul Jones

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Jones examines efforts to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment which ended unsuccessfully in 1982. He argues that efforts to use the federal courts to fill in the gaps in protection of rights based on gender are likely to fall far short of what the Amendment would have provided, and that a renewed attempt at ratification would likely meet the same fate as the earlier one. He suggests a third alternative, U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as the most feasible means of achieving the goals of the ERA without …

Rule Revision Roundelay, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

A critique of the proposed revision of F.R.C.P. Rule 11.

Civil Rights Plaintiffs And The Proposed Revision Of Rule 11, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The 1983 amendment of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 has been the most controversial revision of the Federal Rules in their fifty-five-year history, and Rule l l's implementation has been most controversial in civil rights cases. Rule ll's application has disadvantaged civil rights plaintiffs more than any other category of civil litigant. Courts have found civil rights plaintiffs in violation of Rule 11 at a higher rate than other types of plaintiffs and have imposed substantial sanctions on them. Civil rights plaintiffs have been required to participate in expensive, unnecessary satellite litigation involving this provision. Indeed, a new study …

Civil Rights Procedural Problems, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991 primarily to modify numerous Supreme Court opinions of the 1988 Term that jeopardized the rights of minorities and women. Particularly striking about those Supreme Court cases was the number which involved procedural questions and process values. These included the timing of litigation, both when employment discrimination victims must commence actions and when non-parties can reopen civil rights cases resolved through consent decrees; litigant responsibility for the expense of lawsuits; and proof requirements.

Most of the procedural developments in civil rights and employment discrimination litigation of the 1988 Term, however, were only recent …

Civil Rights Conundrum, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

As a case study of the impediments imposed by the revised F.R.C.P. Rule 11 in civil rights litigation, Professor Tobias relates the story of the Robeson County, N.C. prosecution of Eddie Hatcher and Timothy Jacobs, their subsequent civil rights action, and the ensuing Rule 11 sanctions imposed upon their counsel, as reported in In re Kunstler, 914 F.2d 505 (4th Cir. 1990).

Certification And Civil Rights, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In this 1991 article, Carl Tobias responds to Professor Arthur Miller's suggestion that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 should not be prematurely revised.

"Professor Miller's admonitions may convince some observers, especially those authorized to propose revisions in, or to amend, the Rule that there is little wrong with Rule 11's application and that the federal judiciary simply needs a few more years to refine the implementation of this new concept. Numerous problems, however, remain substantial and some may be intrinsic or even irremediable, while certain litigants, especially civil rights plaintiffs, cannot afford to wait. I trust that Professor Miller's …

Rule 11 Recalibrated In Civil Rights Cases, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The United States Supreme Court promulgated the 1983 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure out of growing concern about abuse of the civil litigation process. The most controversial aspect of the implementation of these revisions has been judicial enforcement of amended Rule 11 (the Rule) in ways that disadvantage or "chill" civil rights plaintiffs and attorneys. As the federal judiciary enters its eighth year of implementing the Rule, courts apparently have improved their application of it by becoming more solicitous of the needs of civil rights plaintiffs and their counsel, in recognition of the important social function that …

Engendering Law Faculties, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Numerous women have experienced great difficulty securing tenure at many institutions during the 1980's, even though significant numbers of women entered law teaching in that period. There currently is only an imperfect understanding of the reasons why women have encountered problems in attaining tenure. It is imperative that an enhanced appreciation of these difficulties be developed. If the problems are allowed to persist, the career and the personal well-being of every woman who considers seeking tenure are jeopardized, legal education's commitment to fairness is threatened, and the prospects for improving the treatment of women in the legal profession are reduced. …

When Racists And Radicals Meet, Ronald J. Bacigal, Margaret Ivey Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

In order to stimulate scholarly discussion, this Essay presents an empirical account of the Greensboro incident from the perspective of those who participated in the episode and in the resulting civil rights trial. The Essay traces the circumstances leading to the violence and reviews the resultant litigation with special attention given to the role of the trial judge in politically volatile cases. The candid reflections offered by the trial judge and other participants allow the reader to examine both the event and the litigation, not merely in the abstract, but as implemented by flesh-andblood lawyers, litigants, and judges. .

Rule 11 And Civil Rights Litigation, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The recent amendment of rule 11 may well have engendered more controversy than any other revision since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were first promulgated one-half century ago. The new version essentially requires that judges impose sanctions on lawyers and parties who fail to conduct reasonable inquiries before filing court papers. The amendment's adoption was prompted by increasing concern about abuse of the litigation process and about the "litigation explosion" -the perception that unprecedented numbers of civil cases were being filed and that too many lacked merit. Proponents have hailed the revised rule as the savior of the civil …

Judicial Reflections Upon The 1973 Uprising At Wounded Knee, Ronald J. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

This essay presents a view of Wounded Knee from the perspective of federal district judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., who was part of a judicial task force sent to South Dakota in 1973. Viewing Wounded Knee from the perspective of a trial judge discloses the social forces underlying Wounded Knee and also provides insights into the role of a trial judge in politically sensitive cases.

A Review Of Federal Court Decisions Under Title Vii Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

Fifteen essays examine the highly emotional debate, considering discussions by unions, state legislatures, and the courts.