Amicus Briefs
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Through its litigation initiatives, Legal Momentum has made historic and enduring contributions to the rights and opportunities available to women. This is often accomplished through participation in cases as amicus curiae ("friend of the court"). Amici are groups or individuals who are not parties to the case but have particular expertise in the issues at its heart. They bring their expertise to the court in the form of an amicus brief to inform the court’s deliberations. Each year Legal Momentum writes and joins numerous amicus briefs in cases dealing with issues central to our mission.
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Equal Educational Opportunities | Violence Against Women and GirlsAuthored Amicus Brief: Authored amicus brief: Legal Momentum, with the Fierberg National Law Group, were joined by 13 other gender justice and anti-gender-based violence organizations is filing a brief before the Connecticut Supreme Court in support of Jane Doe in Khan v. Yale University, et al. Jane Doe made a complaint of sexual assault to Yale University against Plaintiff Khan. She participated in the school's Title IX process and Khan was later expelled. Among other claims against the university, Plaintiff Khan sued Jane Doe for defamation for her statements made during the campus proceedings. The Court will consider whether statements made during the course of Title IX sexual harassment proceedings are entitled to absolute immunity from defamation claims. The amicus brief highlights for the Court the myriad public policy reasons supporting interpretation of Connecticut's defamation law to grant immunity to statements made during the course of schools' Title IX sexual harassment proceedings.
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Equal Educational Opportunities | Fairness in the CourtsAuthored Amicus Brief: Legal Momentum and pro bono partner Latham & Watkins, joined by seven partner organizations, filed an amicus brief in support of a cert petition seeking Supreme Court review of a lower court’s ruling in Bose v. Rhodes College. The petition and our brief challenge an alarming ruling issued by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that threatens to eviscerate Title IX’s core safeguards against sexual harassment in schools.
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Equal Educational OpportunitiesAuthored Amicus Brief: Legal Momentum and Morrison Foerster led an amicus brief, which several other organizations joined, filed December 8, 2020. The case involves a female student athlete who was removed from the soccer team and stripped of her scholarship after briefly flashing her middle finger in view of an ESPN camera after winning an important game. Despite evidence of numerous male student athlete comparators who received far less punishment, if punishment at all, for equal or more serious conduct, the District Court ruled in favor of the University on summary judgment. Our brief addressed the gender-based stereotypes that impact the treatment of female student athletes as compared to male student athletes, the fewer elite level athletic and athletic scholarship opportunities for female athletes and the impossibility of applying a standard such as that set out by the District Court’s ruling.
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Equal Educational OpportunitiesLGBTQ+ RightsJoined Amicus Brief: Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause prohibit sex discrimination against transgender individuals based on nonconformity to gender stereotypes.
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Equal Educational OpportunitiesJoined Amicus Brief: Concerning whether UMW violated Title IX by taking no action to investigate cyber harassment on campus.
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Equal Educational Opportunities | Fairness in the CourtsSex-Based Classification | LGBTQ+ RightsJoined Amicus Brief: G.G., a transgender highschool student, sued the Gloucester County School Board for a Title IX violation after they instituted a policy designed to prevent him from using boys' restrooms.
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Equal Educational OpportunitiesRacial JusticeJoined Amicus Brief: Concerned challenging UT Austin's admission plan. The amicus brief was for respondent UT Austin, arguing for the Court to uphold UT Austin’s admission plan and prior Court opinions holding the educational benefits of diversity are a compelling interest permitting colleges and universities to use in narrowly-tailored individualized review of applicants.
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Equal Educational OpportunitiesSex-Based ClassificationJoined Amicus Brief: Determines whether a school's policy that prohibits students from wearing certain breast cancer awareness bracelets is based on stereotypes concerning the men and women's roles.
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Equal Educational OpportunitiesJoined Amicus Brief: Determined whether Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination by federally funded educational institutions, precludes claims of unconstitutional gender discrimination in the schools.
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Equal Educational Opportunities | Violence Against Women and GirlsJoined Amicus Brief: Determined whether Arizona State University is liable under Title IX for the rape of a student by another student who was known to be a serial sexual harasser.
