News

Preparing to appear before the Supreme Court on behalf of the petitioner in Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education on November 30th, Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law Walter Dellinger will argue the case in a moot court at Duke Law School on Friday, November 19 th. The moot, sponsored by the Program in Public Law, will begin at 12:15 p.m. in Room 3041 of the Law School. The panel of judges will include Dean Katharine Bartlett, Duke Law Professors H. Jefferson Powell, Catherine Fisk, and Jedediah Purdy, and Elinor Schroeder, Paul E. Wilson Professor of Law at the University of Kansas.

The Program in Public Law’s “Supreme Court Online” offers the following summary of the case:

Jackson, while employed as a high school girl’s basketball coach, complained about school policies that he believed discriminated against his team in violation of Title IX, the federal legislation intended to ensure sexual equality in school programs. Thereafter, the Board of Education relieved Jackson of his coaching duties. Jackson sued the Board, claiming that it had unlawfully retaliated against him for his allegations. He conceded that Title IX did not expressly provide a remedy for those who are not victims of discrimination themselves, but argued that such a remedy was implied by congressional intent and enforcement regulations created by the Department of Education, forbidding retaliation for complaints. The district court dismissed Jackson’s suit. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that even if the school board had retaliated against Jackson, Title IX provided no remedy through a private lawsuit based on retaliation for claims of discrimination against others.

For more information about the event, please contact Diana Nelson at 919 613 7034.