Syllabus
Civil Rights Litigation
Spring 2012
Professor Yeomans
Rm. 515 (office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. and by appointment)
202-274-4410
wyeomans@wcl.american.edu
Welcome to Civil Rights Litigation. The goal of this course will be to provide a broad
look at civil rights litigation in such areas as criminal justice, police misconduct, hate crimes,
voting, education, and employment. The course will begin by focusing on enforcement of
criminal civil rights laws before moving to laws protecting voting. This unit will explore the
Voting Rights Act, including its applicability to recent restrictions on voting, such as photo ID
laws, and restrictions on registration and early voting. The class will then examine pending
challenges to the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. We will then turn to
discrimination in education on the basis of race and sex, including harassment of LGBT students
and the federal enforcement role. Finally, the class will study discrimination in employment on
the basis of race and sex. Throughout the course, we will consider whether remedies that
consider race or sex are appropriate and effective. We will also think about how laws and
remedies developed for earlier problems are being adapted to address new situations and whether
that process is appropriate and effective. With each subject, we will discuss ways to improve the
law through litigation and legislation.
The syllabus and readings doubtless will change a bit to accommodate breaking
developments as we go along.
I hope that all students will emerge from the class with a deeper understanding of some of
the difficult problems posed by inequality based on differences of race and gender in our society
and of the strengths and weaknesses of the law in addressing those problems.
The basic text for the course will be Brooks, Carrasco, and Selmi, Civil Rights Litigation
(Carolina Academic Press, 3d. edition with 2009 Supplement). Supplemental materials will
occasionally be assigned and posted on MyWCL.
Students will take an open book final exam (90% of grade). They will also be evaluated
on their participation in class (10% of grade).
The schedule of classes and assigned reading are as follows. References to page numbers
are to the text and, where designated, the Supplement.
Class
I. Introduction to the Course
Reading: pp.3-27, Supp. pp. 1-2.
II. Administration of Justice
Reading: pp. 679-709
III. Identifying Federal Rights – Fourth Amendment, Due Process, Eighth Amendment
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833 (1998)
IV. The Rodney King Case
Guest Lecturer
Reading to be assigned
V. Jury Selection and Sentencing
Reading: pp. 719-732, 742-761, Supp. pp. 157-161
VI. Hate Crimes
Reading: pp. 776-791
Wisconsin v. Mitchell, 508 U.S. 476 (1993)
U.S. v. Lane, 883 F.2d 1484 (10th Cir. 1989)
18 U.S.C. 245
VII. Congressional Power to Prohibit Hate Crimes
U.S. v. White, 846 F.2d 678 (11th Cir. 1989)
Morrison v. U.S., 529 U.S. 598 (2000)
U.S. v. Nelson, 277 F.3d 164 (2d Cir. 2002)
VIII. Expanding Federal Hate Crime Protections
18 U.S.C. 249
Legislative material to be posted
IX. Overview of the Voting Rights Act
Reading: pp. 557-562, 569-578
X. The Future of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
Reading: Persily, The Promise and Pitfalls of the New Voting Rights Act, 117 Yale L.J.
174 (2007)
NAMUDNO v. Holder, 557 U.S. (2009)
XI. The future of Section 5
Reading: Shelby Cty. opinion and briefs
XII. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Reading: pp. 588-607
Bartlett v. Strickland, 129 S.Ct. 1231 (2009)
XIII. Bush v. Gore and its Aftermath
Reading: Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000)
Supp. pp. 135-155
XIV. Equal Educational Opportunity
Reading: pp. 29-37, 47-58, 61-73
XV. Remedying Segregation
Reading: pp. 73-89
XVI. Desegregation in the North
Reading: pp. 89-110, 113-125
XVII. Alternative Remedies
Readings: pp. 128-136, 140-153
XVIII. Voluntary Desegregation
Readings: Supp. pp. 3-22
James E. Ryan, The Supreme Court and Voluntary Integration, 121 Harv.L.
Rev. 131 (2007)
J. Harvie Wilkinson III, The Seattle and Louisville School Cases: There is No
Other Way, 121 Harv.L.Rev. 158 (2007)
XIX. Title IX
Readings: pp. 209-229
XX. Addressing Harassment Pursuant to Title VI and Title IX
Readings: pp. 229-260
Department of Education Guidance
Civil Rights Commission Report
XXI. Race-Conscious Admissions
Reading: pp. 1266-1300
XXII. Race Conscious Admissions – Texas and Michigan
Readings: to be assigned
XXIII. Race Consciousness in other areas
Reading: pp. 1197-1248
XXIV. Public Accommodations and Housing
Reading: pp. 261-268, 273-276, 282-305
XXV. Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact
Reading: pp. 306-328, 367-373
XXVI. Discrimination in Employment
Reading: pp. 375-404, Supp. pp. 45-53
XXVII. Disparate Treatment
Reading: pp. 413-434, Supp. pp. 45-53
XXVIII. Disparate Impact
Reading: pp. 484-494, Supp. pp. 56-90
Yeomans, Ricci v. Destefano: Declaring Civil War within Title VII, Harvard
Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review – Amicus, Oct. 22, 2009)