Martin v. Wilks
**Overview of Martin v. Wilks**
Martin v. Wilks is a significant Supreme Court case addressing issues of employment discrimination and the complexities of consent decrees. The case involved African American firefighters who alleged hiring and promotion discrimination but failed to include white firefighters, who sought to intervene in the legal proceedings. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision led by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, ruled that the white firefighters should have been included in the original complaint. This ruling reversed a lower court's consent decree that had favored the African American firefighters, which the white firefighters viewed as reverse discrimination. The decision sparked controversy and prompted Congress to amend the Civil Rights Act in 1991 to facilitate the filing of discrimination complaints by African Americans. The dissenting opinion, notably expressed by Justice John Paul Stevens and joined by several other justices, highlighted concerns over the implications of the majority's ruling. This case is often referenced in discussions about affirmative action and the broader implications of race in employment practices.
Martin v. Wilks
Date: June 12, 1989
Citation: 490 U.S. 755
Issue: Employment discrimination
Significance: The Supreme Court held that a group complaining of employment discrimination must include all other relevant groups in its complaint; this ruling was largely overturned by the 1991 Civil Rights Act.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the decision for the 5-4 majority, holding that African American firefighters who complained of hiring and promotion discrimination should have included all white firefighters in their original complaint. The African Americans did not, and the lower court ruled that the white firefighters attempted to intervene too late in the proceedings. The lower court allowed a consent decree to be entered which the white firefighters regarded as a form of reverse discrimination. The Supreme Court overturned the consent decree favoring the African American employees, but Congress believed that the Court went too far and amended the Civil Rights Act in 1991 to make it marginally easier for African Americans to file employment discrimination complaints. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a strong dissent in which he was joined by Justices Thurgood Marshall, William J. Brennan, Jr., and Harry A. Blackmun.
