Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer 1999)
In this MONITOR, we provide summaries of a number of decisions handed down by the Supreme Court during its last term which ended on June 23, 1999. The decisions covered a range of civil rights and related issues from disability rights to sexual harassment to voting rights.
Inside.....
SUPREME COURT ISSUES OPINIONS IN FIVE EMPLOYMENT DISABILITY CASES:
During the 1998-99 term, the Supreme Court heard a record number of cases that addressed various aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Three of the five ADA cases involved workers denied jobs based on their medical condition but whose employers claimed they could not sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act because their impairments were not serious enough.
SUPREME COURT OPINION SUPPORTS STUDENT DISABILITY RIGHTS:
On March 3, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Cedar Rapids v. Garrett I (No. 96-1793) that public schools are required by law to provide students with disabilities the care and services they need, so long as the assistance can be provided by someone other than a doctor.
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS STUDENT RIGHTS IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE:
On May 24, 1999, in one of the most highly anticipated cases of the term, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that school districts can be held liable for damages under Federal law for failing to stop a student from subjecting another student to severe and pervasive sexual harassment if the school district knows about the harassment and responds with "deliberate indifference."
SUPREME COURT ISSUES NARROW RULING IN TITLE IX CASE:
On February 23, 1999 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is not automatically covered by the anti-discrimination laws that apply to its member schools.
SUPREME COURT RULES FOR THIRD TIME IN NORTH CAROLINA VOTING CASE:
On May 17, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that judges must strictly examine the evidence before ruling that race has been the predominant factor in the drawing of congressional district lines.
SUPREME COURT NARROWS RIGHTS OF ALIENS:
On February 24, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that federal courts have no jurisdiction to hear a claim that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) selectively instituted deportation procedures as a result of First Amendment activities. Furthermore, the Court ruled 8-1 that an alien unlawfully in the United States has no constitutional right to assert selective enforcement as a defense against his or her deportation.
SUPREME COURT RULING IN SENTENCING CASE LIMITS THE RIGHTS OF DEFENDANTS:
On June 21, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that a Judge is not required to inform a jury of the consequences of its inability to reach agreement on the sentence of a convicted criminal. Specific to this case, the court was not required to tell jurors that if they deadlocked on a sentence of death or life imprisonment, the judge would mandate the life sentence as opposed to a lighter penalty.
