News and Announcements
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High court: Whitmer's orders have 'no continuing legal effect'The Michigan Supreme Court told Gov. Gretchen Whitmer her orders have "no continuing legal effect" and denied her request to delay the effective date of its decision that ruled the law underpinning Whitmer's executive orders was unconstitutional. The high court's two orders prompted the immediate cancellation of Monday's previously scheduled virtual city council meetings in Flint and Lansing, and put pressure on Whitmer and the Legislature to replicate her orders about allowing online government meetings during the pandemic into state law. The law governing the state health department's authority to respond to an epidemic has been on the books for decades, stretching back to the Spanish Flu epidemic in the 1910s, said Lance Gable, a Wayne State University associate professor of law. "But there are some things in the governor’s orders that are not covered by the health department orders," Gable said, noting unemployment and public virtual meetings may be beyond the department's scope of power. "At the end of the day, it would have to be the Legislature," he said. No doubt tenuous public health arguments could be made to allow the health department to issue orders allowing for electronic meetings, but it might be a step too far for those already sounding the alarm about executive overreach, Gable said. "The health department I don’t think has the ability to overturn elements of the Open Meetings Act," he said. -
Slew of private antitrust suits awaits big tech under house planCompanies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. would face a rise in private consumer and employee litigation under a House Democratic proposal to dismantle big tech’s market dominance in part by banning mandatory arbitration agreements. “When we’re talking about Big Tech and breaking up these companies, that’s not the type of stuff that’s going to be addressed in class actions,” according to Stephen Calkins, a law professor at Wayne State University who studies antitrust. Consumer antitrust litigation is typically a follow-on to federal lawsuits and part of the system of deterrence, Calkins said. It can be useful in addressing potentially anticompetitive behavior such as mandatory bundles, hidden charges, and automatic renewals. But these typically aren’t the types of cases that change how these companies do business, he said. Forced arbitration clauses can “subvert justice” by moving cases involving important legal issues out of the public view, said Sanjukta Paul, a law professor at Wayne State University whose work focuses on the intersection of antitrust and labor. “One major advantage that we have if there’s a court proceeding is at least we can see what’s going on, and we can’t do that with a private arbitration proceeding,” she said. “What’s happening in the tech sector now is a matter of public concern, however you come out on it.”
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Fiat Chrysler vowed to hire Detroiters at new assembly plant: Meet Benny and BernieFiat Chrysler in February 2019 said it would invest $1.6 billion to expand its former Mack Avenue Engine Complex to produce a new three-row, full-size Jeep SUV as well as the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. Production will begin next quarter, and the automaker forged an agreement with the city and residents in surrounding neighborhoods to make the 4,950 positions at the new plant and the adjacent updated Jefferson North Assembly Plant available to Detroiters first. More than 16,000 Detroiters have submitted their applications with the help of the city and Detroit at Work. Hundreds of job readiness events in the fall and spring helped prepare residents to apply. Fiat Chrysler has conducted 4,139 interviews and extended 2,326 offers. All but three have been accepted. "It's a significant economic lift to the neighborhood," said John Mogk, a Wayne State University law professor who studies urban issues, of FCA hiring Detroiters first. "It’s an important advantage for residents of a surrounding area to be close to their worksite. The area income is increased by virtue of having good-paying jobs. That allows the local retail outlets to have increased support for the sales of their product and services, and the overall quality of the environment will improve."
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Michigan’s effort to end gerrymandering revives a practice rooted in ancient AthensJohn Rothchild, professor of law, wrote an article for The Conversation. “Michigan has embarked on an experiment in democratic governance using a technique employed in Athens 2,500 years ago but little used since: the selection of government officials by lottery rather than by appointment or election. The 13 officials selected by lot in August make up Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. By November 2021, the group will draw election districts used to elect officials to the Michigan Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. The redistricting process occurs every 10 years, after the Census Bureau determines how many representatives are allocated to each state. Historically, state legislatures have been responsible for redistricting. But throughout U.S. history gerrymandering – drawing election districts to favor the political party that controls the state legislature – has characterized the redistricting process…Michigan’s commission, created by a 2018 ballot initiative, is unique. As a professor who teaches constitutional law and, occasionally, ancient Athenian law, I am fascinated by the fact that Michigan’s seemingly novel experiment in governance is based on a process that is thousands of years old.”
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Third Circuit limits FTC ability to recoup profits from AbbVie (1)Federal district courts can’t allow the FTC to reclaim profits from companies that benefited from unfair competition, the Third Circuit ruled in a case over AbbVie’s control of a testosterone gel patent. The appeals court Wednesday reversed a district court decision ordering AbbVie and Besins Healthcare Inc. to pay $448 million for allegedly filing sham patent lawsuits to stifle competition. Section 13(b) of the FTC Act doesn’t give courts the power to order disgorgement, which would enable the Federal Trade Commission to claw back money from companies engaged in anticompetitive behavior, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said. While the FTC can seek an administrative trial to get approval for recouping ill-gotten gains, it “is a much more long, involved and unproven route” for disgorgement than going through the federal courts, said Stephen Calkins, former general counsel for the FTC and a law professor at Wayne State University. “I cannot overstate the importance of 13(b) in the day-to-day operation of the Federal Trade Commission,” he said. “Elimination of that power would eliminate the authority that is used in the majority of cases that FTC files.” The FTC has used disgorgement via the courts to redress consumer harm “with incredible success since the Reagan Administration,” Calkins said. “If the FTC loses, there will be a fundamental reworking of how the FTC operates,” Calkins said. “Either the FTC will have to get relief from Congress, or it will have to reinvigorate some under-used authority. But its way of life will be fundamentally changed.” “A betting person with the passing of Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg is probably betting against the FTC,” he added.
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On International Safe Abortion Day, Detroit law professor weighs in on latest SCOTUS nominationOn International Safe Abortion Day, Sept. 28, organizations that advocate for women to have the right to choose are speculating how the Supreme Court nomination of devout Catholic Judge Amy Coney Barrett will impact their mission. One law professor believes the confirmation hearing might not provide many answers. "Planned Parenthood is always under attack in certain states by the opponents of reproductive freedom," said Robert Sedler, distinguished professor of law at Wayne State University. "I suspect Judge Barrett will try to skirt the question as much as she can." He believes concerns regarding Roe vs. Wade, a landmark Supreme Court decision that protects a pregnant woman's freedom to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restrictions, are unfounded. "I think it's simply hype. My view as a constitutional law professor is that I expect the Supreme Court to follow doctrine and precedent. In terms of the Supreme Court overruling Roe V. Wade, as I say, that would be extremely unlikely," he said.
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Ginsburg’s Detroit Connections, Admirers, Reflect on Her LegacyJonathan Weinberg, a professor of law at Wayne State University, clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 1983-1984, also before she was on the Supreme Court. He also heard about Ginsburg’s death during Rosh Hashanah services on Zoom. “Before Ruth Bader Ginsberg, it was simply taken for granted that women, legally, were not expected to, did not and could not play the same role in society as men,” Weinberg said. “Ginsburg wasn’t the only person to play a part in changing that, but she played a tremendously important part in bringing us to a world where it’s so much more taken for granted.”
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Detroit Equity Action Lab’s Race and Justice Reporting Initiative Provides Outlets and Mentorship for Journalists of ColorRecognizing the need for inclusivity in Detroit’s media landscape, Wayne State University’s Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL) has been working to further the development of local journalists of color through its Race and Justice Reporting Initiative. Led by Martina Guzmán, Race and Justice Journalism Fellow at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, and Peter Hammer, Professor of Law and Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, the Race and Justice Reporting Initiative seeks to support media coverage on racial justice issues in Detroit by BIPOC journalists (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). The Race and Justice Reporting Initiative launched in 2019 with support from a grant from the Community Foundation and the Detroit Journalism Engagement Fund (DJEF). The DJEF emerged from a scan of the local journalism landscape that collected interviews from more than 60 local and regional stakeholders, including Detroit-area news leaders and national journalism experts.
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Opinion | Don’t fall for filibuster abolition. It’s a trap.Former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Wayne Law's Distinguished Legislator in Residence, and Richard A. Arenberg, interim director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy and a visiting professor at Brown University, co-wrote this opinion article for the Washington Post. "Some progressives, probably because they assume Democrats are going to control the Senate after the election, are arguing that the filibuster should be abolished. In the words of John Steinbeck, “I guess a man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, and then steps in it.” The temptation to end filibusters during consideration of legislation would create such a trap. It would exacerbate polarization by embracing one-party rule. It would strip the Congress of the only procedural path to forcing negotiation and compromise. And it would be certain to backfire."
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Jessica Biondo becomes Wayne Law’s first Ms. JD fellowship recipientWayne State University Law School student Jessica Biondo was recently named a 2020 Ms. JD fellow. She is the first Wayne Law student and the second student from Michigan to receive this honor. Created 10 years ago, the Ms. JD Fellowship is a project in partnership with the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession to promote mentoring and professional development for future female attorneys. This early mentorship and career guidance assist young women leaders in becoming more active in the legal community. Biondo is in her third year at Wayne Law and is an admissions ambassador, senior note editor for The Journal of Law in Society, Mock Trial student coach and a member of the TYLA National Mock Trial team. She’s also co-president of the Italian American Student Law Association and previously served as president of the Health Law Society. Biondo also received the State Bar of Michigan Health Care Law Annual Scholarship.
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Wayne Law student doubles as a social worker/therapistDuring the Larry Nassar sex offender scandal at Michigan State University, Katelyn Maddock spent two years as a therapist at the MSU Center for Survivors. “Being at the epicenter of such a large-scale trauma was really eye-opening for me in terms of what it meant to create healing and justice for not only survivors, but the public at large,” says Maddock. Now a 2L student at Wayne State University Law School, Maddock’s goal is to bring a social-work lens into the field of law as she pursues a career in public interest. “I saw law school as a way for me to be an active participant in helping shape and change systems that oppress, traumatize, and create substantial harm for those who interact with it,” she says. “My classmates have been one of the best parts of being at Wayne Law. Being in law school has taught me to be more collaborative and I’ve been very fortunate to surround myself with classmates and friends that challenge me to work harder, be more open minded, and step outside of my comfort zone. Being able to talk through everything from Civil Procedure to Property has deepened my understanding of the law and has really helped me excel. Involved in Law Review and Moot Court, Maddock also serves as president of the Women's Law Caucus, and finds it fulfilling to help create an environment people can come to as a ‘home base’ within the law school.
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Can jobs or schools require you or kids to get a COVID-19 vaccine? Here's what we knowMost businesses are open and schools are coming back in session, but there are major concessions to the coronavirus. From kindergarten to college, schools are switching to virtual learning and businesses are operating at reduced capacity. There is a race to create a COVID-19 vaccine to beat back the virus, and now, we're looking at who can require you to get the future vaccine, and what rights you have to push back. There's a lot of hope a coronavirus vaccine can help us get back to normal life, but that only works if the public takes the vaccine. Public Health Law Expert Professor Lance Gable said confidence in vaccines is the key to public health. Gable said despite parent protest, the state can require kids to get a future coronavirus vaccine, just as other childhood shots. "State requirements of this sort, as long as they have scientific evidence supporting their necessity, often they're going to be upheld," he said. He added, "It's really important we get this right and it's really important we maintain trust." Parents can request a non-medical waiver. It will require a visit with a county health educator and during disease outbreaks, non-vaccinated kids can be excluded from school. What about your job? Federal guidance says employers can require a COVID-19 test to look for active infection but not for antibodies. A vaccine can be closer to antibody screening. “So it could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and it might be a problem for employers to do that," Gable said.
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Legal experts call on officials to shore up pandemic responseThe United States’ response to the pandemic is a story of failed leadership, missed chances and untold tragedy. How did the law worsen this disaster? How can it help the country recover? Fifty legal experts tackled these questions in a comprehensive report released Tuesday. Back in October, the world’s richest country won kudos from the world of academia. In a Global Health Security Index led by Johns Hopkins University, which looked at nations’ ability to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to epidemics, the U.S. ranked No. 1. out of 195 countries. The index’s authors apparently believed because the federal government had prepared for a widespread viral outbreak—even conducting an exercise in August 2019 called “Crimson Contagion,” simulating a novel respiratory virus spreading from China across the globe—the preparation would easily be put into practice. The simulation predicted shortages of basic medical supplies, or personal protective equipment, during a global influenza pandemic. Skip ahead five months. It’s February and China’s in lockdown struggling to contain an outbreak of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Then politics got in the way of public health. With tens of millions of people losing their jobs and filing for unemployment, President Donald Trump started leaning on states to reopen their economies. “The quick removal of restrictions in many jurisdictions was prompted not by public health guidance, but rather by political pressure from President Trump and his supporters, protests organized by conservative groups, and a large number of lawsuits challenging stay-at-home orders and business closures,” wrote report contributor Lance Gable, a law professor Wayne State University in Detroit. Gable told Courthouse News he believes states, not Congress, should address the issue through legislation. “I do not think that a constitutional amendment granting immunity to state governments from legal challenges to their public health powers is feasible, necessary, or wise. I also do not think that this is an issue that even warrants congressional or other federal-level actions,” he wrote in an email. According to Gable, another tragedy in the U.S. response is federal and state governments did not use the time when most people were abiding by stay-at-home orders to ramp up testing and contact tracing. Experts say delays in test results have rendered contact tracing worthless as infected people can interact with dozens of others before it is known they have the virus.
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Opinion: Detroit’s war vs. structural racism will need helpJohn Mogk, professor of law, wrote an op-ed titled “Detroit’s war vs. structural racism will need help.” Mogk wrote: “In 1967, structural racism triggered a civil explosion, the Detroit riot, resulting in the death of 43 people and hundreds of millions in property damages. Rather than taking personal charge of addressing the issue then-Gov. George Romney and Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh turned the responsibility over to newly formed New Detroit, the nation’s first urban coalition, to identify what went wrong, what needed to change and how to make that change happen. A half-century later, structural racism is alive and well in Michigan. For any progress to be made, Michigan’s elected leadership must be directly involved. Structural racism is entrenched in our society. It fosters public policies, institutional practices and cultural representations that work to reinforce racial inequality in all aspects of African-American life. After Detroit’s disturbance, political leaders provided support to New Detroit, but they kept their distance and Detroit’s white neighborhoods and suburbs were largely uninvolved. These factors contributed significantly to little progress being made in combating structural racism in the decades since then…It is unlikely that progress will be made in Michigan in combating structural racism unless Governor Whitmer takes the lead in a sustained effort, along with other elected officials.”
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Detroiters’ Bill of Rights is a positive step forward | OpinionPeter Hammer, professor of law and Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School, wrote an opinion piece. “We are living in historic times that open up the possibility for historic change, but only if we chose to seize the moment. A new charter of freedom was revealed last week in front of the Spirit of Detroit. Dozens of community leaders joined Council President Pro Tempore Mary Sheffield and Councilwoman Raquel Castañeda-López to announce the Detroiters' Bill of Rights. These rights are grounded in notions of racial equity — the right to be free from discrimination, the right to water, safety, health, environmental justice, recreation, access and mobility, and basic needs and quality of life…Detroiters’ Bill of Rights is a revolutionary step towards a positive rights agenda.
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Commentary: Community benefits are more than just a checkboxPeter Hammer, a law professor and the director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School, and George Gaines of the Equitable Detroit Citywide CBA Coalition, co-wrote a commentary article for Crain’s Detroit Business. They called on corporations receiving public subsidies and engaging in negotiations for Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) to commit to set of principles toward racial equity both as a process and and outcome. “During the past decade, corporations doing development in Detroit by our estimates have been awarded nearly $1.5 billion in tax abatements, mostly concentrated in the downtown business district. And yet, Detroit remains one of the nation's most impoverished cities. It is obvious that majority Black Detroit is not benefiting from these public investments.”
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Barriers remain for disabled people as ADA reaches 30 year markThe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) changed the nation’s landscape. It requires things like curbs that can accommodate wheelchairs and so-called “handicapped” parking spaces that have now become commonplace. The ADA is even supposed to make internet sites more accessible to those with a disability, though the federal government’s enforcement of that provision has varied. But the head of Wayne State University’s Disability Law Clinic, David Moss, says the law still has not made good on its promise to create a surge in companies hiring people with disabilities. “I think there is concern among many employers that hiring people with disabilities will expose them to potential disability discrimination claims by those employees. They are concerned that accommodations may be costly,” he said. Moss notes the ADA has helped change attitudes towards those with a disability. He says people with disabilities were often routinely kept away from the rest of society before the landmark law took effect. “There are still a very sizable percentage of people with disabilities, even people under age 65 with disabilities, who are living in nursing homes and other institutional settings. But the number has come way, way down,” Moss said.
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Robert A. Sedler is recognized by Continental Who's WhoRobert A. Sedler is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Attorney for his remarkable contributions in the field of Education and acknowledgment of his dedication and commitment as a Professor of Law at Wayne State University. As a seasoned and trusted educator, Mr. Sedler is currently on phased retirement and will be fully retired at the end of the 2020-2021 academic years. He serves as a distinguished professor at Wayne State University Law School, where he has taught courses in Constitutional Law for nearly six decades. He also advises on matters related to constitutional law and civil rights law. Previously he engaged in constitutional litigation, particularly in public interest constitutional litigation. Throughout his valuable experience as a professor, he has had the opportunity to publish extensively, including a book on American constitutional law. He has also had the opportunity to do a great deal of public interest litigation, protecting civil rights and civil liberties, primarily as a volunteer lawyer for the ACLU, and providing lectures on American constitutional law in foreign countries. Prior to working at Wayne State, he was a professor of law at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He also helped establish a law school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 1963 to 1966 on a Ford Foundation project.
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Morouns could chart new path following death of patriarchThe passing of billionaire Manuel "Matty" Moroun potentially could herald a new era for the prominent and controversial family that owns the Ambassador Bridge, a trucking company and swaths of property in Detroit. In recent years, his only son, Matthew Moroun, officially has taken the reins of the logistics empire. He's the third-generation leader with a business legacy to uphold as well as reinvent amid a changing and civically minded business environment in Detroit. "I think the son taking over the company is a fresh opportunity for the company to work more closely with the residents in the areas of his properties to find solutions that benefit both the residents and the company," said John Mogk, a Wayne State University law professor who specializes in urban issues. "Early steps suggest there may be an improving situation. It's too early to tell if that will hold true." The family, meanwhile, has objected to publicly funded plans to build the Gordie Howe International Bridge a few miles south of the iconic Ambassador Bridge. The Morouns argue there won't be enough traffic to support both border crossings. Despite their challenges and objections, the bridge is moving forward. "The rationale for the bridge is that it will help expand trade and economic activity in the region," Mogk said. "You can understand why there was opposition, because it will impact your bottom line. Nonetheless, it caused a considerable amount of energy and effort in order to hold that project. That was another initiative by the company that was not in the best public’s interest."
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Local police policies: the rules governing officersA force representative of the community, along with enlightened leadership, ranks high in the prescription for a successful police force promoted by professor Robert Sedler of Wayne State University Law School who has a long history studying law enforcement and the community it serves. “In 1974, only 17 percent of officers in the Detroit Police Department were Black, and only five percent of the captains and lieutenants were. When Coleman Young came in, he started affirmative action, hiring a Black officer for every White officer. The Detroit Police Officers Association challenged it in court, and I wrote the Friend of the Court brief,” Sedler said. “Eventually, the police department got it right, especially under chief Craig. With all of the recent protests, you're not seeing the looting and rioting in Detroit like in (some) other cities. “While Trump and others blame it on rogue cops, I think it starts at the top. When officers use excessive force, they seem to know they can get away with it, from leadership and from unions,” he said. “It's the leadership and the unions, and the policies they create and enforce. You need cameras, you don't use choke holds, and you don't use facial recognition. In my view it depends on the policies put into effect by the department and it needs support from the community. It took a long time, and a lot of litigation, but now you have a Detroit police force that has the support of the community.” Sedler said, “The slogan 'defund the police' is really not helpful. You're talking about reform and restructuring policing. You talk about the best way to deal with domestic violence incidents, for example, maybe you need police and social workers. You need to talk about restructuring and it's going to be city by city, community by community.”
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Law students honored by Clinical Legal Education AssociationEight Wayne State University Law School students and recent graduates were awarded a 2020 Outstanding Clinical Student Team Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA). Assistant Professor (Clinical) Kathryn M. Smolinski, director of Wayne Law’s Legal Advocacy for People with Cancer Clinic (LAPC), nominated the team for the award for their contributions to the clinic during the fall 2019 semester. LAPC is a medical-legal partnership between Wayne Law and Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center that offers students training on real-life legal issues while providing an invaluable service to low-income cancer patients receiving treatment at the center. “This class worked so well together to provide excellent services to the cancer patients at Karmanos Cancer Center,” said Smolinski. “They exemplified what it means to be a clinical student: they demonstrated great client rapport, strong writing skills, terrific research and problem-solving, seminar participation, amazing teamwork, consummate professionalism, excellent time and case management and a strong desire to learn and to lead.”
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Supreme Court upholds American Indian treaty promises, orders Oklahoma to follow federal lawKirsten Carlson, associate professor of law and adjunct associate professor of political science, wrote an article for The Conversation about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering Oklahoma to follow federal law regarding promises made to American Indian nations. “To most Americans, it may seem obvious that a government should live up to its word. But the United States has regularly reneged on the promises that it made to American Indian nations in the nearly 400 treaties that it negotiated with them between 1778 and 1871. Many people feared that the Supreme Court would turn a blind eye to another treaty breach in this case, McGirt v. Oklahoma. Beyond Oklahoma, the decision’s effects will vary by tribe and state. States from Florida to Michigan have sought to curtail tribal sovereignty, and this decision clearly affirmed tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. It also emphasized the limited powers that states have over American Indian tribes under the U.S. Constitution. States may now think twice before ignoring treaty promises or challenging tribal jurisdiction. They may decide it’s better to negotiate than to fight in court.”
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Dan Gilbert guards Detroit headquarters in Quicken Loans IPODan Gilbert doesn't plan to give up control of the mammoth mortgage company that he launched 35 years ago — or apparently its iconic Detroit headquarters — on the road to taking the company public. Any effort to move the "corporate headquarters outside of Detroit, Michigan will require the approval of 75% of the combined voting power of our common stock," according to the S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is filed in anticipation of an initial public offering. The Detroit nugget is listed along with other restrictions in the deal that are designed to discourage any takeover of Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans. "Dan Gilbert wants Quicken to be in Detroit," said Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University. "So he's not going to be willing to move it to Cleveland or anyplace else," said Henning, who said his daughter works at Quicken. "It's a Detroit-based company and he doesn't want to see it moved."
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Wayne Law students awarded prestigious 2020 workers’ right fellowship at UAWTwo Wayne State University Law School students were awarded prestigious 2020 Peggy Browning Summer Fellowships. Rising third-year students Michele Lucas-Narcisse and Samantha Perry are both fellows at United Auto Workers International Union Legal Department in Detroit. They were awarded the fellowships for their commitment to workers’ rights through their previous educational, work, volunteer and personal experiences.
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Zoning board nomination draws diversity discussionThe nomination of a Zoning Board of Appeals applicant at a recent Sterling Heights City Council meeting became a microcosm for national conversations on race, namely the philosophies and methods institutions use to achieve equality and diversity. In an email, Wayne State University Law School professor Robert Sedler said Elliott-Larsen prohibits “a policy of discrimination, such as a quota limiting the number of minorities, whites, women or men who can serve on the commission.” Sedler said it doesn’t ban a council member from taking race into account in order to increase a commission’s diversity, which he said is the case here. “Members of a city council are free to vote on appointments for any reason that they choose,” he said. Sedler constitutionally compared the matter to how the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public universities may consider race as a factor to foster educational diversity. “For the same reason, I would submit that it is constitutionally permissible for a city council to take race or gender as one of the factors in appointment to a governmental agency,” he said. “The city has a compelling interest in ensuring that governmental agencies are reflective of the city's population.” Peter Hammer, a law professor and the director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School, offered some general opinions. “Current laws dealing with affirmative action and non-discrimination are poorly equipped to deal with the racial equity needs confronting us today and move this country forward,” he said. Hammer said the way nondiscrimination laws and affirmative action provisions are practiced today can “often create greater racial inequality by preventing progress in increasing racial diversity.”
