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Contact:
Kim Alton
202-662-8600
November
18, 2003
Lawyers'
Committee Pleased That Appeals Court Ruling In Support
of Affirmative Action In Contracting Stands
Washington,
D.C. – The Lawyers' Committee is pleased by the
U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in
the case of Concrete Works of Colorado, Inc. v. City
and County of Denver, Colorado. This decision by the
Supreme Court affirms a lower court ruling that upheld
a Denver, Colorado affirmative action program.
The
program in question is a 1990 Denver law designed
to remedy racial and gender discrimination in city
contracting. The local ordinance was challenged as
a form of unconstitutional discrimination.
The
Supreme Court’s refusal to consider this case
affirms the principles of inclusion and equal opportunity
for historically disadvantaged communities and is
consistent with the views expressed earlier this year
by the Court in the University of Michigan affirmative
action cases. “Minority and women-owned businesses
make significant contributions to our economy despite
the presence of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination.
The Denver program recognizes this fact and attempts
to fix this problem by providing equal access to business
owners who have been shut out of the process in the
past,” said Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director
of the Lawyers' Committee.
The
Lawyers' Committee is deeply concerned with affirmative
action issues and filed an amicus brief in the Tenth
Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the City of
Denver. The Lawyers' Committee recently launched an
Entrepreneurial Opportunities Program that has been
monitoring the case since the appeal was filed with
the Supreme Court.
The
Lawyers' Committee is a forty year old nonpartisan,
nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed
in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy
to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.
The Lawyers' Committee has through litigation and
advocacy worked to protect and preserve affirmative
action in higher education, employment, and contracting.
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