Rash of Dismissals Voids Bias Claims

The Supreme Court decision last June that sharply restricted the reach of a major civil rights law has resulted in the dismissal of 96 race discrimination claims, nearly one every business day since the opinion was issued, a study released Sunday by a civil rights group says.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund reviewed court actions between June 15, the date of the Supreme Court’s decision in Patterson vs. McLean Credit Union, and Nov. 1.

Judges, acting on their own or at the request of those being sued, dismissed 96 discrimination claims in 50 cases as a result of the Patterson decision, the study by the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People found.

In Patterson, the court said an 1866 civil rights law that prohibits race discrimination in the making of a contract--known as section 1981--”extends only to the formation of a contract but not to problems that may arise later.”