Plains States ADL Hosts 10th Annual Supreme Court Review

Date: August 9, 2009

ADL Plains States Region hosted the 10th Annual Supreme Court Review for board members and Glass Leadership participants last month. The transnational conference call offered an overview and ADL analysis of the high court's rulings for the 2008-2009 term.

Chief among the rulings was the decision to leave intact the 1965 Voting Rights Act. As a founding member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, ADL had submitted an amicus brief urging the continued protection of this bedrock law.

Other highlights included a ruling to deny school employees the right to strip-search students; a unanimous decision rejecting the right of religious groups to display permanent monuments in a public park; and the Ricci v. DeStefano case which held that employers cannot discount the results of promotion/hiring exams when minority applicants score lower than white applicants in order to advance workplace diversity.

"We appreciated having the opportunity to hear about this year's key Supreme Court decisions and their relevance to ADL's civil rights and church-state separation work," Chair of ADL Plains States Civil Rights Committee Carol Bloch said "Our regional office is always offering a chance to get involved in interesting ways."