AMICUS NEWS

AAJ's amicus curiae brief for Brzonkala

December 6, 1999

AAJ DEFENDS CIVIL REMEDY FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The Supreme Court of the United States will decide the constitutionality a provision in the Violence Against Women Act, 42 U.S.C. 13981, which permits a victim of a gender-motivated crime of violence to sue the perpetrator for compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief. United States v. Morrison, No. 99-5 (cert. granted Sept. 28, 1999).

The civil remedy is part of a broad package of provisions enacted in 1994, following four years of congressional hearings. Congress found that many states failed to provide adequate protection for women against such crimes as sexual assault and domestic violence. In this case, a female college student sued two football players who allegedly raped her. The Fourth Circuit, however, ruled that the statute exceeded Congress' authority under either the Commerce Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment. Brzonkala v. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 169 F.3d 820 (4th Cir. 1999)

AAJ submitted an amicus brief contending that the Act was well within the authority granted to Congress by Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to enact appropriate legislation to enforce the right to equal protection of the law. Although Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment extends only to state actors, Section 5 is not so limited. In view of the fact that state criminal and civil justice systems were providing inadequate protection to women against gender-based violence, allowing damage suits against private actors was a reasonable step to remedy the lack of equal protection of the laws.

Because this provision is clearly within Congress' power under the Fourteenth Amendment, AAJ argued, it is not necessary for the Court to determine whether it is also within Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause.