SmartBrief
0
Confirm favorite deletion?
Constitutional Law Keyed to Farber
Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney
Citation:
442 U.S. 256 (1979)Facts
Helen Feeney worked in Massachusetts civil service from 1963 to 1975, when her position was eliminated. During her twelve-year tenure, she took numerous competitive civil service examinations, often scoring very highly—including second highest for a Board of Dental Examiners position and third highest for an Administrative Assistant position. Despite her high scores, she was consistently ranked below male veterans who scored lower due to Massachusetts General Laws chapter 31, section 23, which required that all qualifying veterans be placed above all non-veterans on eligible lists. Between 1963 and 1973, over 98% of Massachusetts veterans were male, and the preference resulted in women being displaced on fifty sample eligible lists. The statute applied to approximately 60% of public jobs in Massachusetts and granted an absolute lifetime preference to any honorably discharged veteran with at least 90 days of active wartime service. Feeney eventually concluded that further competition for positions of interest to veterans would be futile and filed suit in 1975 challenging the statute as unconstitutional gender discrimination.
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.
Topic Resources
Topic Videos 
15m 12s
5m 39sTopic Outline 
Topic Refresher Course 
Topic Charts & Notes 