Civil Procedure Keyed to Yeazell
Martin v. Wilks
Facts
Litigation giving rise to this lawsuit began in 1974 when the NAACP and seven individuals filed separate class action lawsuits against the City of Birmingham and the city’s hiring board, alleging violations of the Act. The parties entered into consent decrees, setting forth an extensive remedial scheme, including long-term and interim annual goals for the hiring and promotion of blacks as firefighters. Before final approval of the decrees, the Birmingham Firefighters Association (BFA) appeared and filed objections as amicus curiae. The BFA also moved to intervene on the ground that the decrees would adversely affect their rights. The district court denied relief. The Wilks Respondents, a new group of white firefighters (Respondents), in the present case then brought suit against the city and the board in district court for making race conscious employment decisions. The Martin Petitioners, a group of black individuals (Petitioners), were allowed to intervene in their individual capacities to defend the decrees. Petitioners moved to dismiss the reverse discrimination cases as impermissible collateral attacks on the consent decrees. The district court granted the motion to dismiss. On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed. The Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) granted certiorari.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.