CWEALF

Programs

Legal Advocacy

CWEALF works to protect and advance women's rights through legal advocacy. CWEALF regularly writes and signs onto amicus curiae briefs. Through these briefs, we work to raise the concerns of women and to ensure their experiences are considered when policies and laws are established or reformed.

CWEALF also initiates legal interventions to protect women's rights and civil rights. Recent examples of interventions include an Office for Health Care Access (OHCA) case regarding the purchase of Sharon Hospital by a private company. The work of CWEALF, represented by Ruth Pulda, on behalf of the Coalition for Choice, ensured that the sale of the hospital was contingent on the provision of reproductive health care for patients. This was the first case of its kind in Connecticut and an important victory for the Pro-Choice movement.

CWEALF, represented by Maureen Murphy, was involved in a Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) case related to the inclusion of the Boy Scouts in the state employee charitable campaign. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) alleged that Connecticut State Employees Campaign violated its rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association by disallowing the BSA to participate in the Campaign because they exclude open homosexuals from leadership positions. In July 2002, the United States District Court, District of Connecticut denied the BSA's motion for summary judgment. The BSA appealed this decision and on July 9, 2003, the federal appeals court ruled that the State of Connecticut may exclude the Boy Scouts of America from the State Employee Charitable Campaign because of the Boy Scouts' anti-gay policy.

Amicus Briefs

For the past thirty years, CWEALF has written and participated in amicus curiae briefs in order to ensure that women's concerns are heard when laws are enacted or reformed. The following is annotated listing of those briefs related to family, education, civil rights and employment law.

Family Matters

    Adoption
  • In re Adoption of Baby Z, 1999
  • In re Adoption of CCG and ZCG, 2000
  • In re Adoption of RBF and RCF, 2000

    Custody/Visitation
  • Ireland v. Ireland, 1998
  • State of Connecticut v. Anthony Vakilzaden, 1999
  • Troxel v. Granville, 1999
  • T.B. v. L.R.M., 2001

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Equal Education for Girls and Women

    Athletics/Title IX
  • Cook v. Colgate University, 1993
  • Cohen v. Brown University, 1996
  • Klinger v. Department of Corrections, 1997
  • Boucher v. Syracuse University, 1999
  • Curetan v. NCAA, 1999
  • Smith v. NCAA, 2001
  • Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, 2000
  • Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, 2003
  • Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, 2005

    Sexual Harassment (School)
  • Rowinsky v. Bryan Independent School District, 1996 (school – peer sexual harassment)
  • Bruneau v. South Kortright School District, 1998 (school – employer liability)
  • Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 1999 (school – peer harassment)
  • Murrell v. School District No. 1, 1999 (school – peer harassment)
  • Reed v. Edelwich, 1996 (school – employer liability)
  • Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 1998 (school – employer liability)
  • Canty v. Old Rochester Regional School District, 1999 (school - § 1983 + Title IX)
  • Gleason v. Board of Trustees of Salem State College, 2000 (school - § 1983 + Title IX)
  • Litman v. George Mason University, 2004
  • Simpson v. University of Colorado, 2007
  • J.K. v. Arizona Board of Regents, 2008

    Racial Discrimination
  • PICS v. Seattle School District, 2007

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Workplace Issues

    Employment Discrimination
  • Walters v. Metropolitan Educational Enterprises, Inc, 1996
  • Bryan County v. Brown, 1997
  • Atkinson v. Lafayette, 2006
  • Burlington Northern v. White, 2006
  • Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 2007

    Sex Discrimination
  • Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte, 1987
  • United Auto Workers (UAW) v. Johnson Controls, 1991
  • J.E.B. v. Alabama ex. rel. T.B., 1994
  • State of Connecticut v. Walker, 1994
  • Faulkner v. Jones (the Citadel case), 1995
  • United States of America v. Virginia, 1995
  • United States of America v. Virginia, 1996
  • In re: Union Pacific Railroad Employment Practices Litigation, 2008

    Sexual Harassment
  • Newsday, Inc. v. Long Island Typographical Union, No. 915, 1990
  • Comments to Proposed Guidelines on Harassment Based on Race, Color, Religion, Gender, National Origin, Age, and Disability, 1993
  • Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 1993
  • Gary v. Long, 1995
  • CHRO ex. rel. Bilodeau v. United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney, 1996
  • Angelsea Productions v. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, 1996
  • Jenson v. Eleventh Taconite Co., 1997
  • Keslar v. Bartu, 2000
  • Brittell v. State of Connecticut Department of Corrections, 1998
  • Oncale v. Sundowner, 1998
  • Rocque v. Freedom of Information Commission, 2001
  • Pollard v. DuPont, 2001

    Family and Medical Leave Act
  • Testimony and Comments to the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations Regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act, 1996
  • Hibbs v. Nevada Department of Human Resources, 2003

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Discrimination

    Discrimination - Sexual Orientation
  • Steffan v. Aspin, 1994
  • Romer v. Evans, 1996
  • Thomas v. Anchorage, 2000
  • CHRO/John-Jane Doe, 2000
  • Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman, 2003
  • Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, 2007

    Discrimination - Domestic Violence
  • Freedom of Information Commission v. Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven, Inc., 1998
  • Doe v. Doe, 1996
  • Culberson v. Doan, 1998
  • White v. El Gabri; Bentley v. El Gabri, 1998
  • Tsitaridis v. Tsitaridis, 2007

    Reproductive Health - Buffer Zones
  • Pro-Choice Network of Western New York v. Schenck, 1995
  • Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York, 1997
  • United States and Connecticut v. Scott, 1999
  • Hill v. Colorado, 2000
  • People of the State of New York v. Operation Rescue National, 2001
  • McGuire v. Reilly, 2001

    Reproductive Health - Other
  • Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 1989
  • Hodgson v. Minnesota, 1989
  • Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 1989
  • Turner v. Ragsdale, 1989
  • Rust v. Sullivan together with New York v. Sullivan, 1991
  • Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 1992
  • Winters v. Costco, 1995
  • Hope v. Perales, 1995
  • Letter to EEOC on Contraceptive Coverage, 1999
  • Stenberg v. Carhart, 2000
  • Bost v. Low-Income Women of Texas, 2002
  • Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, 2006

    Sexual Assault
  • United States v. Lanier, 1997
  • Commonwealth v. Fischer, 1998
  • Letter to the FBI regarding the definition of rape for purposes of the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), 2001
  • In re Jonathan; Matthew G. v. State of Connecticut, 2002

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