BREAKING NEWS ~ Supreme Court rules Title IX protects whistleblowers News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Supreme Court rules Title IX protects whistleblowers

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Title IX gender equity law protects whistleblowers who claim discrimination by academic institutions.

10:45 AM ET – In Jackson v. Birmingham Bd. of Ed., 02-1672, the Court extended whistleblower protection to those alleging discrimination at academic institutions. Justice O'Connor delivered the opinion for a five-person majority. O'Connor wrote:

The regulations implementing Title IX clearly prohibit retaliation and have been on the books for nearly 30 years. More importantly, the Courts of Appeals that had considered the question at the time of the conduct at issue in this case all had already interpreted Title IX to cover retaliation. The Board could not have realistically supposed that, given this context, it remained free to retaliate against those who reported sex discrimination. A reasonable school board would realize that institutions covered by Title IX cannot cover up violations of that law by means of discriminatory retaliation.

Read the Court's full opinion [text, PDF], including a dissent by Justice Thomas.

Also Tuesday, the Court issued its opinion in City of Sherrill, New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, 03-855, holding that the Oneida Indian tribe could not regain sovereignty over lands in central New York by purchasing them on the market. The tribe had refused to pay property taxes on the land, claiming their purchase revived previous sovereignty over the lands from 200 years ago. The Court, per Justice Ginsburg, held that the length of time, delay in seeking relief and developments in the area prevented relief. Justice Souter concurred in the opinion, while Justice Stevens dissented. Read the Court's opinion [text, PDF] in the case.