DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Chicano conference programs and speeches, April 1973-May 1974 | 1974-04-14 Workshop IV, Chicano: Legal Process Page 7

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Chicano conference programs and speeches, April 1973-May 1974

1974-04-14 Workshop IV, Chicano: Legal Process Page 7

ROBERT BARTELS: My experience with class actions is they are useful sometimes but not really very often. There are a lot of situations, and I think it is really primarily true in Iowa for instance, if you sue the state and you win, with one plaintiff, the state agencies will then fold and enforce that decision against all other people similarly situated.

Now there are situations, and I have dealt with those in other states, where the defendants will take the position, let us say the Department of Social Services, that when one person comes in and wins a case and gets a decision saying you have to get a hearing before they cut off your welfare, "We have to give that one person a hearing but we do not have to give anyone else a hearing." That is when a class action is useful. The relief goes to all the people who are in the same class so that if a second person then comes in and they do not give a hearing then the Department of Social Services is in contempt. Theoretically the people who run the department can be put in jail. But that is another problem with class actions; judges are very reluctant to put state officials in jail.

There are significant numbers of situations where it is very useful to get everyone in on one case.

AUDIENCE RESPONSE: Why don't we discuss affirmative action upon federal guidelines and the enforcement of affirmative action?

ROBERT BARTELS: Again, I am not really that familiar with affirmative action except in the university context here. The university is trying to set goals for affirmative action. Each department in the university has to submit a paper saying how many minorities and women will be hired in the next five years. One problem is that those guidelines are not binding on anyone. There is no real sanction that the government has, except that the government could begin to cut off funds from those places.

Now, in terms of private employers I do not really know anything about the details.

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ROBERT BARTELS: My experience with class actions is they are useful sometimes but not really very often. There are a lot of situations, and I think it is really primarily true in Iowa for instance, if you sue the state and you win, with one plaintiff, the state agencies will then fold and enforce that decision against all other people similarly situated. Now there are situations, and I have dealt with those in other states, where the defendants will take the position, let us say the Department of Social Services, that when one person comes in and wins a case and gets a decision saying you have to get a hearing before they cut off your welfare, "We have to give that one person a hearing but we do not have to give anyone else a hearing." That is when a class action is useful. The relief goes to all the people who are in the same class so that if a second person then comes in and they do not give a hearing then the Department of Social Services is in contempt. Theoretically the people who run the department can be put in jail. But that is another problem with class actions; judges are very reluctant to put state officials in jail. There are significant numbers of situations where it is very useful to get everyone in on one case. AUDIENCE RESPONSE: Why don't we discuss affirmative action upon federal guidelines and the enforcement of affirmative action? ROBERT BARTELS: Again, I am not really that familiar with affirmative action except in the university context here. The university is trying to set goals for affirmative action. Each department in the university has to submit a paper saying how many minorities and women will be hired in the next five years. One problem is that those guidelines are not binding on anyone. There is no real sanction that the government has, except that the government could begin to cut off funds from those places. Now, in terms of private employers I do not really know anything about the details.