Civil rights suits reopened against school district

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, April 22, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

Five civil rights lawsuits filed against the Clark County School District have been reopened now that the U.S. Supreme Court has permanently shut the door on the district's claim of immunity under the 11th Amendment.

The Supreme Court in February declined to review a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the district was not an arm of the state, a status that would have protected it from certain federal lawsuits.

The 11th Amendment protects states from being sued by individuals.

The Supreme Court's decision not to review the case "eliminates one basis to defend litigation," William Hoffman, general counsel for the school district, said Monday. However, there are still other legal avenues and defenses for the district to use, Hoffman said. Hoffman said he did not believe the ruling would bring a flood of new lawsuits filed against the district.

The 9th Circuit ruling, issued in September, stemmed from two lawsuits, consolidated for the purposes of the appeal, that were filed by Clark County Legal Services on behalf of two disabled students.

Shawn Witte, 13, and Derrick Eason, 12, claim they suffered repeated physical, psychological and verbal abuse while attending the district's Variety School for Special Education. Eason's family filed a complaint in November 1997, with Witte's family following in March 1998.

The boys' lawsuits have twice been dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge and twice reinstated by the 9th Circuit Court. Each time the suit was reinstated the school district appealed.

Daniel Ebihara, an attorney for Clark County Legal Services, said the school district's insistence on clinging to the 11th Amendment argument has resulted in "horrendous delays" of a lawsuit that could have otherwise been resolved in a reasonable amount of time.

"We've had to go to the 9th Circuit twice to get this case back on track, and each time that's meant a year, year and a half of delays," said Ebihara, who has worked on the suit with several other attorneys for three years. "It's very frustrating to have something like this drag on much longer than it should."

Clark County Legal Services, which provides representation at low and reduced cost, has had at least three attorneys working on the suit for the past six years, Ebihara said.