Supreme Court Will Rule on Marianne Stanley Case

Marianne Stanley’s legal battle to return as the USC women’s basketball coach has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

And the outcome, expected this week, could affect last Thursday’s hiring of Cheryl Miller as the new Trojan coach.

A maze of legal maneuvers brought the case before the Supreme Court during the weekend, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is expected to decide today or Thursday whether to reinstate Stanley--thereby nullifying Miller’s hiring.

O’Connor’s ruling will be in effect only until Stanley’s appeal to retain her position is resolved.

The complicated process began last week after a federal judge denied a request that Stanley be reinstated while her $8-million sex-discrimination suit against USC and Athletic Director Mike Garrett is pending. The suit could take a year or more to be resolved.

That decision by Judge John G. Davies of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles was appealed. Because USC was in the process of hiring a new coach, Stanley’s attorney, Robert L. Bell, also filed emergency motions with the district court and appellate court requesting that Stanley be reinstated while the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco considered the appeal.

When both courts denied Stanley’s emergency motions late Friday, the Supreme Court was petitioned to take action. By then USC had hired Miller, a one-time Trojan star.

The San Francisco appellate court did agree to put Stanley’s case on what is known as a fast track in an effort to decide her fate before the basketball season starts Nov. 1.

The court could uphold Davies’ opinion, in which Stanley would be out of work as she awaits a trial date on her suit. Or she could be reinstated for the 1992-93 season.