Court vs. Congress: Judicial Interpretation of The Civil Rights Acts and Congressional Response

Abstract

"Neither our words nor our decisions should be interpreted as signaling one inch of retreat from Congress's policy to forbid discrimination in the private, as well as the public, sphere." Patterson v. McLean Credit Union,, 109 S. Ct. 2363, 2379 (1989). "Congress finds that ... in a series of recent decisions addressing employment discrimination claims under Federal law, the Supreme Court cut back dramatically on the scope and effectiveness of civil rights protections;" The Civil Rights Act of 1990, § 2 (a)(1), H.R. 4000, S. 2104, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. (1990).