The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Lawyers Committee

October 27, 1999

Statement of Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

We as a nation are increasingly alarmed and saddened by the growing number of brutal hate crimes perpetrated against our own citizens because of their identity. This tragic violence profoundly affects the civil rights of all Americans. The United States was horrified by the racial violence evidenced when a black man, James Byrd Jr., was dragged to his death by brutal men preaching racial hatred. Although we as a nation would like to believe this was an isolated event, violence of this nature continues to plague our society. We need look no further for evidence than the murder of Matthew Sheppard, the summer shooting spree over three states that injured many and resulted in the death of an African-American man and a young Asian student, the attack of school children at a Jewish daycare center by a white supremacist and the subsequent murder of a Filipino-American postman by that same man. These incidents which occurred because of the racial, religious and sexual identity of the victims, are a constant reminder that hate crimes are a grievous problem in our nation. It is a problem that needs our immediate attention and is one where the United States Congress and the White House have an historic opportunity to provide bipartisan leadership.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act which was enacted by the United States Senate as part of the Commerce, State and Justice Appropriations Bill was a critical piece of legislation which would have helped to protect the civil rights of all Americans. Until all Americans can freely walk the streets of our nation without fear that their race, gender or sexual orientation will make them targets for hate violence, our quest as a nation for racial equality cannot be fulfilled. This legislation would have assisted local and state law enforcement efforts to enforce and prosecute hate crimes by enhancing federal and state cooperation, by removing obstacles to federal involvement and by providing federal laws to properly address bias motivated crimes in states where the laws are insufficient. Since hatred and violence in our nation effects each one of us, I find it especially troublesome that this critical measure was purposely removed from the CSJ Appropriations Bill.

We must remain committed to passing this historic legislation whose purpose is to address this tragic violence increasingly visited upon the citizens of our nation because of their identity. We must recognize and thank those in United States Congress and the White House who have supported this legislation and provided leadership. I now urge them to continue their support of this important issue and include the provisions of the Hate Crime Prevention Act as part of the final omnibus appropriations measure.

back to Hate Crimes Prevention Act Action Alert

TO: Board of Directors and Trustees of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Local Affiliates and Friends of the Lawyers’ Committee

FROM: Barbara R. Arnwine, Thomas J. Henderson and Diane L. Gross

CALL SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO OPPOSE CLASS ACTION FAIRNESS ACT

The Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 (“Class Action Act”) will be voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. The Class Action Act is extremely problematic for the civil rights community because of its impact on federal civil rights class actions and the restrictions that it places on class action plaintiffs and settlements. It would also substantially alter the jurisdiction of federal and all state courts. If passed, this bill would: remove most state court, state-law class actions into federal court; clog the federal courts with state law cases and make it more difficult to have federal civil rights cases heard; deter people from bringing class actions; and impose costly and unjustified burdens on settlement of class actions.

The Lawyers’ Committee joins with many civil rights groups in opposing the Class Action Act because of its impact on the enforcement of our nation’s civil rights laws. The enforcement of civil rights laws is vital to ensure that victims of discrimination can obtain relief from unlawful practices. It is critical that this Act be stopped, otherwise new barriers will prevent victims of discrimination from achieving equal justice.

WHAT IS NEEDED?:
Contact Senate Judiciary members at (202)225-3121 -
tell them to oppose the Class Action Fairness Act, S. 274.

We urgently request that all of those concerned with preventing this damaging legislation from passing call members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tell them that they should oppose the Class Action Fairness Act because:

This bill will amend federal law to allow corporate defendants and others to remove to federal court almost all state class actions. Our federal courts will be overloaded and the resolution of cases will be delayed, including a majority of civil rights claims as well as environmental, labor and other federal claims.
This bill will discourage individuals from bringing class actions by prohibiting named plaintiffs
from receiving full relief for their claims. The bill prohibits courts from approving settlements that allow a greater share of relief to a class representative than all members of the class, making named plaintiffs sacrifice full relief as the price of trying to protect others.
Proponents of the legislation want to marginalize the role of some local juries and judges in deciding whether or not to hold businesses responsible – most of the areas proponents have identified as plaintiff-friendly "judicial hellholes" are counties where most of the citizens are black and Hispanic. Proponents express concern that juries composed of these citizens tend to decide cass based on “rhetoric and emotional appeals" rather than “focus[ing] on individual responsibility.”

TARGET SENATORS
Specter (R-PA)
Dewine(R-OH)
Feinstein(D-CA)
Kohl(D-WI)
Hatch(R-UT)
Schumer(D-NY)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DIANE GROSS AT (202)662-8600 or dgross@lawyerscomm.org.

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