Massachusetts High Court To Hear Law School Appeal

The Supreme Judical Court (SJC) of Massachusetts agreed last week to hear an appeal by a group of Harvard Law School students who sued their school, arguing that it has made inadequate efforts to increase the number of women and minority faculty.

A lower court dismissed the lawsuit on the basis that the students, members of an alliance of ethnic organizations called the Coalition for Civil Rights (CCR), were not in an appropriate position to challenge the school for its hiring policies and thus did not have "standing" to file suit.

The SJC's decision to hear the case bypasses the state's Court of appeals, typically the forum for contesting lower court rulings. CCR members yesterday called the high court's ruling a significant victory, while Harvard lawyers downplayed it. saying it was not out of the ordinary.

"Their granting our motion is a big victory," said Caroline C. Wittcoff, a third-year law student who will likely argue the case. "The SJC's decision to hear the case themselves is a signal that they recognize the importance of the issues involved."

But Harvard attorney Allan A. Ryan, who argued against the students appeal, said that the high court's decision was to be expected.

"I'm not terribly surprised by it and I don't think it's all that significant," Ryan said. "The Supreme judicial Court, unlike the United States Supreme Court, hears most cases it's asked to hear, and what has happened here is they eliminated the intermediate Court of Appeals from the process, which they do dozens of times a year."

The CCR case maintains that Harvard Law School has violated its contract with its students by failing to increase the representation of minorities on its faculty. Currently of the school's 66 tenured or tenure-track professors, six are black men and five are white women.

The decision by the SJC means that the court will rule on whether the students have the right to sue the school for allegedly discriminatory employment practices, even though they are not school employees.

Ryan said he does not think the court will ultimately grant the students standing, which they need to argue the substance of the case.

"My reaction is that it's simply not a case that belongs in Court," Ryan said.

But Williston Professor of Law Roger Fisher '43 said the students might be granted standing, though he doubts they have a strong enough case to win on substance.

"If [the students] have a contract, they probably have standing to say [Harvard is] not fulfilling the contract. I think there's a plausible argument," Fisher said. "But I don't think they're going to win on the merits."

Students helping to prepare the case, however, said the basis for their claims is clear.

"If Harvard is supposed to be the leading institution, they should be the leader in having people from different backgrounds, and they're actually lagging behind," said third year student Inger D. Tudor.

"If we win in the SJC, there is a chance that the number of lawsuits that students initiate [nationally] will increase," said Laura E. Hankins, a third-year student who will likely help present the students claims to the court. "We all hope that is the case."

But Ryan, who said he will file a brief with the high court Monday on behalf of the University, added that he is confident of the school's position.

Both sides said they expect to go before the court in the spring.