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85-600: In September 1969, black and minority fire fighters of all ranks from municipalities across the United States met in New York City for two days of discussion on various problems and injustices affecting African-American firefighters: the recruitment of black youth into the fire service, firefighters-community relations with special emphasis on relations with the residents of neighborhoods inhabited by blacks, inter-group relations and practices in fire departments , and

170-413: A change in policy to avoid future payouts. Examples of altered practices through the use of a decree have included restructuring building property or the removal of barriers to allow for physical accessibility for all persons, providing supplemental communication tools such as sign language interpreters for those that are hard of hearing, and eliminating discriminatory practices against those that have

255-404: A consent decree begins with negotiation. One of three things happens: a lawsuit is filed and the parties concerned reach an agreement prior to adjudication of the contested issues; a lawsuit is filed and actively contested, and the parties reach an agreement after the court has ruled on some issues; or the parties settle their dispute prior to the filing of a lawsuit and they simultaneously file

340-415: A consent decree. The usual consent decree is not self-executing. A consent decree is implemented when the parties transform their agreements from paper to reality. The judge who signed the decree may have no involvement or may monitor the implementation. The judge can only step in to assist in enforcement if a party complains to the court that an opponent has failed to perform as agreed. In this case,

425-579: A court. Errors of law or of inferences from the facts may invalidate it completely. Typically, a consent decree dispenses with the necessity of having proof in court, since by definition the defendant agrees to the order. Thus, the use of a consent decree does not involve a sentence or an admission of guilt. Likewise, the consent decree prevents a finding of facts , so the decree cannot be pleaded as res adjudicata . Because judicial decrees are part of government civil enforcement in settlements that two parties typically agree to before litigation

510-489: A demographic that takes up the smallest fraction of the population is not necessarily labelled the "minority" if it wields dominant power. In the academic context, the terms "minority" and "majority" are used in terms of hierarchical power structures . For example, in South Africa, during Apartheid , white Europeans held virtually all social, economic, and political power over black Africans. For this reason, black Africans are

595-574: A disability at all. Rather, they are disadvantaged by technologies and social institutions designed to cater to the dominant group. ( See the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities .) People belonging to religious minorities have a faith that is different from that held by the majority. Most countries of the world have religious minorities. It is now widely accepted in the West that people should have

680-881: A disability. Consent decrees have been used to alter environmental policy, one example being the "Flannery Decision", or the Toxics Consent Decree, entered into by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Defense Council , an environmental advocacy group. This decree, signed in 1976, highly restructured the way the EPA dealt with harmful substances by requiring the agency to list and regulate 65 toxic pollutants and to regulate pollutant discharges on an industry-by-industry basis (i.e., effluent guidelines regulations) rather than by singular pollutants. This decree went on to shape

765-490: A judge can enter a consent decree, according to the rulings in Firefighters v. City of Cleveland and Firefighters v. Stotts they must have subject-matter jurisdiction , and they cannot modify a consent decree when one of the parties objects. The Supreme Court's position on how much authority a judge possesses in regard to influencing how the settlement is agreed upon is conflicting. In Firefighters v. City of Cleveland ,

850-432: A lack of political capital to properly integrate them. This political isolation of blacks during the era of fiscal austerity in the 1970s was a direct cause of the elimination of the gains made in fire service up until then by blacks and minorities. As the consent decrees were implemented, fiscal cutbacks forced those last hired to be fired in deference to seniority rules, prompting a new round of lawsuits. Boston suffered from

935-481: A landmark decision in 1973, the EEOC, Department of Labor and AT&T compromised on a consent decree that phased out discrimination within recruiting, hiring and employment methods in regard to minorities and women. This established a precedent for other large, private U.S. companies to avoid litigation and government oversight by creating decrees in cooperation with Title VII. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

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1020-406: A lawsuit and request that the court agree to the entry of judgment . The court is meant to turn this agreement into a judicial decree. In many cases, the request for entry of a consent decree prompts judges to sign the documents presented then and there. In some cases, however, such as criminal cases , the judge must make some sorts of assessments before the court's entry of the agreement as

1105-486: A minority group as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination". The definition includes both objective and subjective criteria: membership of a minority group is objectively ascribed by society, based on an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics; it

1190-427: A minority, the status of women, as a subordinate group, has led to many social scientists to refer to them as a disadvantaged group. Though women's legal rights and status vary widely across countries, women often experience social inequalities, relative to men, in various societies. Women are sometimes denied access to education and access to the same opportunities as men, especially in under-developed countries. In

1275-448: A normal community life. Despite the havoc the cuts had on those communities, they were never rescinded. Only minorities with no political representation were affected, effectively segregated and politically marginalized, preventing them from finding allies to oppose the reductions in service to their districts. If this seems a relic of past discrimination fights, the Aughts proved this not to be

1360-875: A racial and religious minority). Likewise, individuals may also be part of a minority group in regard to some characteristics, but part of a dominant group in regard to others. The term "minority group" often occurs within the discourse of civil rights and collective rights , as members of minority groups are prone to differential treatment in the countries and societies in which they live. Minority group members often face discrimination in multiple areas of social life, including housing, employment, healthcare, and education, among others. While discrimination may be committed by individuals, it may also occur through structural inequalities , in which rights and opportunities are not equally accessible to all. Those in favour of minority rights often pursue laws designed to protect minority groups from discrimination and afford members of

1445-436: A section that stated if authorities did not protect people with learning disabilities from others' actions, such as harm or neglect, then they could be prosecuted. The disability rights movement has contributed to an understanding of disabled people as a minority or a coalition of minorities who are disadvantaged by society, not just as people who are disadvantaged by their impairments. Advocates of disability rights emphasize

1530-399: A settlement between two parties. The role of the judge in regard to consent decree wavers between "rubber stamping" versus applying their own judgments to a proposed settlement. In 1879, Pacific Railroad of Missouri v. Ketchum bound the court's role in consent decrees to simply supporting to an agreement that parties have already established on their own. In regard to antitrust decrees,

1615-451: A very different culture and language makes difficulties in the early stages of life in the new country. Voluntary immigrants do not experience a sense of divided identity as much as involuntary minorities and are often rich in social capital because of their educational ambitions. Major immigrant groups in the United States include Mexicans, Central and South Americans, Cubans, Africans, East Asians, and South Asians. The term sexual minority

1700-477: A wide range of areas, including their involvement in corporations specializing in technology, the film industry, and the motor vehicle industry. The effort to desegregate American public schools began in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education . This landmark Supreme Court case established that racial segregation of children in public schools was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of

1785-418: Is a social group within a state that differs from the majority and/or dominant population in terms of ethnicity, language, culture, or religion, but also it also tends to have a close link with a specific territory from which the minority social group originates. Also known as "castelike minorities", involuntary minorities are a term for people who were originally brought into any society against their will. In

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1870-570: Is also subjectively applied by its members, who may use their status as the basis of group identity or solidarity . Thus, minority group status is categorical: an individual who exhibits the physical or behavioral characteristics of a given minority group is accorded the status of that group and is subject to the same treatment as other members of that group. Joe Feagin , states that a minority group has five characteristics: (1) suffering discrimination and subordination, (2) physical and/or cultural traits that set them apart, and which are disapproved by

1955-435: Is based on the idea that a group can be considered a minority even if it includes such a large number of people that it is numerically not a minority in society. Some sociologists have criticized the concept of "minority/majority", arguing this language excludes or neglects changing or unstable cultural identities, as well as cultural affiliations across national boundaries. As such, the term historically excluded groups (HEGs)

2040-404: Is filed, they act as a hybrid between a judicial order and a settlement without a party conceding criminal responsibility. Frederick Pollock and Frederic Maitland describe how courts during the 12th century of Medieval Europe used "fines" as a form of court orders to settle land disputes among litigants with the punitive power and legitimacy of courts through the use of consent decree. In

2125-491: Is frequently used by public health researchers to recognize a wide variety of individuals who engage in same-sex sexual behavior, including those who do not identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. For example, men who have sex with men (MSM), but do not identify as gay. In addition, the term gender minorities can include many types of gender variant people, such as intersex people, transgender people , or non-binary individuals. However,

2210-584: Is largely determined hereditarily . However, it can also be influenced by factors such as adoption , cultural assimilation , religious conversion , and language shift . As race and ethnicity often overlap, many ethnic minorities are also racial minorities. However, this is not always the case, and some people are ethnic minorities while also being classified as white, such as some Jews , Roma , and Sámi . In some cases, their ethnic identities have been seen as negating their whiteness, in both inter- and intra-group identification. In some countries, such as

2295-579: Is often similarly used to highlight the role of historical oppression and domination, and how this results in the under-representation of particular groups in various areas of social life. The term national minority is often used to discuss minority groups in international and national politics. All countries contain some degree of racial, ethnic, or linguistic diversity. In addition, minorities may also be immigrant, indigenous or landless nomadic communities. This often results in variations in language, culture, beliefs, practices, that set some groups apart from

2380-776: Is one of the criteria for to determine a national minority, upon the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . Some especially significant or powerful minorities receive comprehensive protection and political representation. For example, the former Yugoslav Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the three constitutive nations, none of which constitutes a numerical majority (see nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina ). However, other minorities such as Roma and Jews , are officially labelled "foreign" and are excluded from many of these protections. For example, they may be excluded from political positions, including

2465-686: Is perceived as an unassimilated ethnic group (on a linguistic, religious, physical, or ideological basis) by the ruling political elite of a country" and reserves the term 'minority' only for groups that have been granted minority rights by their state of residence. Minority group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as: ethnicity (ethnic minority), race (racial minority), religion ( religious minority ), sexual orientation ( sexual minority ), or disability . The framework of intersectionality can be used to recognize that an individual may simultaneously hold membership in multiple minority groups (e.g. both

2550-704: Is such a type of settlement in the United States . The plaintiff and the defendant ask the court to enter into their agreement, and the court maintains supervision over the implementation of the decree in monetary exchanges or restructured interactions between parties. It is similar to and sometimes referred to as an antitrust decree , stipulated judgment , or consent judgment . Consent decrees are frequently used by federal courts to ensure that businesses and industries adhere to regulatory laws in areas such as antitrust law , employment discrimination , and environmental regulation . The process of introducing

2635-705: Is the serve both Firefighters, our department, and the Austin community. In opposition, members of the Austin Firefighters Association say they are ready to work with city leaders. “We’re the employee group, and nobody knows how to hire better firefighters than the employees themselves,” said AFA President Bob Nicks in response to the criticism. However, the judge ruled in favor of the AAAFA. Repository citation (for consent decrees) Minority group The term " minority group " has different usages, depending on

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2720-448: The Green v. County School Board of New Kent County ruling – which include, student assignment, faculty, staff, transportation, extracurricular activities, and facilities. Consent decrees have been signed by a number of cities concerning their police departments' use-of-force policies and practices, including Chicago , New Orleans , Oakland , Los Angeles (whose consent decree

2805-599: The Department of Justice used consent decrees (which are amended according to the times and technology) to regulate how they issued blanket licenses to ensure that trade is not restrained and that the prices of licenses would not be competitive. The Department of Justice reviewed the music consent decrees starting 2019, and issued a statement in January 2021 that they would not be terminating them as they still offered several efficiencies in music licensing that maintained benefits to

2890-643: The Fourteenth Amendment , which requires that states must not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws". To properly enforce this legislation, the Supreme Court allowed district courts to use desegregation decrees obligating states to actively transition into racially nondiscriminatory school systems, with "all deliberate speed". Since the original decree did not include specific ways this could be done, beginning with Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education in 1971,

2975-600: The May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd by MPD officers. Consent decrees have been used to remedy various social issues that deal with public and private organizations, where a large number of people are often concerned even if they may not be members of either party involved. Examples have included Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the Americans with Disabilities Act , and environmental safety provisions. Title VII of

3060-646: The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) and its supplement, the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914), the Tunney Act further specified how consent decrees could be used by establishing that the courts must demonstrate that consent decrees serve the "public interest" in antitrust cases filed by the Justice Department . In regard to antitrust decrees, the first consent decree used in antitrust regulation under

3145-598: The Sherman Antitrust Act was Swift & Co. v. United States in which the Court used its power under the Commerce Clause to regulate the Chicago meat trust as an unlawful economic monopoly. In Standard Oil Company of New Jersey v. United States , the government used consent decrees to dissolve the horizontal monopoly that John D. Rockefeller had established. Other examples of antitrust consent decrees can be found in

3230-488: The United Kingdom . The various minority groups in a country are often not given equal treatment. Some groups are too small or indistinct to obtain minority protections. For example, a member of a particularly small ethnic group might be forced to check "Other" on a checklist of different backgrounds and so might receive fewer privileges than a member of a more defined group. Many contemporary governments prefer to assume

3315-516: The United States , for example, non-Hispanic Whites constitute the majority (58.4%) and all other racial and ethnic groups ( Mexican , African Americans , Asian Americans , American Indian , and Native Hawaiians ) are classified as "minorities". If the non-Hispanic White population falls below 50% the group will only be the plurality , not the majority. Racial minorities, sometimes referred to synonymously as people of color or non-white people, are minority groups that are discriminated against on

3400-645: The public interest should be taken into account when determining whether or not a change in fact warrants ... the decree". There is criticism that "the antitrust consent decree is an opaque form of government regulation that operates without many of the checks and balances that constrain and shape ordinary regulatory programs". So, some argue that the use of consent decrees in antitrust cases and with public institutions can negatively affect third parties and public interests . Consent decrees have appeared in various forms of popular media, often as plot devices to explore legal and political themes. In

3485-446: The "minority group", despite the fact that they outnumber white Europeans in South Africa. This is why academics more frequently use the term "minority group" to refer to a category of people that experience relative disadvantage, as compared to members of a dominant social group. To address this ambiguity, Harris Mylonas has proposed the term "non-core group", instead of "minority group", to refer to any aggregation of individuals that

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3570-514: The 1999, 2002, and 2007 lists. AFD - Austin, Tx Consent decree in final stage litigation Plaintiffs AAAFA decries The Department of Justice in the implementation of the decree, and the most recent rushed resolution by the city council, which is allowing local 975(AFA) to be involved in the diversity hiring process. The AAAFA being the party involved in bringing the lawsuit, argued that the Federal consent decree trumps and overrides any state code so that

3655-605: The AFA (Local 975) request to enjoin the discussions is deleterious to the process. To be clear, they stated before the Austin City Council, the facts are that the state does not allow Local 975 to be involved in the implementation of the consent decree, and we, the AAAFA are saying they do not need to be involved with it as well. Finally, the best AFD hiring process that had the most diversity was in 2005 (which Local 975 helped to cancel), not 2012 or 2013. The AAAFA organization's mission

3740-432: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination by employers on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. Most often, the remedies to workplace discrimination carried out under this Act take place in the form of consent decrees, where employers may have to provide monetary awards or introduce policies and programs that eliminate and prevent future discrimination. These may include decrees that require

3825-653: The Supreme Court ruled that consent decrees "have attributes both of contracts and of judicial decrees", so consent decrees should be treated differently for different purposes. In Rufo v. Inmates of Suffolk County Jail , the Supreme Court decided that courts could take into account the changing times and circumstances for more flexibility in the administration of consent decrees. In regard to litigation in performance rights organizations such as American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music, Inc. in United States v. ASCAP , which began in 1941,

3910-478: The Supreme Court specifically defined the objective as eliminating "all vestiges of state imposed segregation" within school systems, including the limited use of busing , racial quotas , the creation of magnet schools and judicial placement of new schools, and the redrawing of school attendance zones. To stop judicial intervention in schools and end the consent decree through a court order, districts must demonstrate desegregation within six criteria defined in

3995-567: The United Kingdom, there is a preference to categorise people by ethnicity instead of race. Ethnicity encompasses a mix of "long shared cultural experiences, religious practices, traditions, ancestry, language, dialect or national origins". The United Kingdom considers everyone but white British people to be an ethnic minority, including other white Europeans such as White Irish people (excluding in Northern Ireland). A national minority

4080-431: The United States' one-drop rule and blood quantum laws , South Africa's apartheid , and Nazi Germany Nuremberg race laws . Other times, race has been a matter of self-identification, with de facto racist policies implemented. In addition to governmental policy, racism may persist as social prejudice and discrimination. There are also social groups that are usually identified through ethnicity . Like race, ethnicity

4165-510: The United States, 19th and 20th century legal treatises show that consent decrees and the role of the court in the parties' settlement was ambiguous. The 1947 Corpus Juris Secundum declares that although consent decrees are "not the judgment of the court", they do have the "force and effect of a judgment". The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure , which both went into effect in 1938, lay many of

4250-486: The United States, for instance, it includes but is not limited to Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and in the 1800s, native-born Hispanics . Immigrants take on minority status in their new country, usually in hopes of a better future economically, educationally, and politically than in their homeland. Because of their focus on success, voluntary minorities are more likely to do better in school than other migrating minorities. Adapting to

4335-425: The artists. Violations of antitrust law are typically resolved through consent decrees, which began to be more widely used after 1914 with the enactment of the Clayton Antitrust Act . This act began to address the complexities of antitrust economic regulation by recognizing the use of consent decrees as a method for the enforcement of federal antitrust legislation. In amending the antitrust statutes laid out in

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4420-665: The basis of race . Though definitions vary cross-culturally, modern racism is primarily based on the European and American classifications of race that developed during the Age of Exploration , as European countries sought to categorize the nations they colonized into pseudo-scientific phenotypical groups. In the United States's system, whiteness is at the top of a hierarchy that automatically classifies mixed-race individuals as their subordinate race . Sometimes, racist policies explicitly codified pseudo-scientific definitions of race: such as

4505-591: The best qualities and aspirations of the professional fire and rescue service. Medal of Valor recipients include: The IABPFF also celebrates and recognizes our leadership as an organization who had the courage and vision to “speak truth to power” over the many decades we “kept the fire burning for Justice” to quote Capt. David J. Floyd, the IABPFF founding president. In cities where blacks came to achieve an absolute political majority – such as Baltimore, Newark, Gary, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. – threats of lawsuits forced

4590-430: The case. With nepotism an issue, the makeup of many firehouses still remains a profession passed from father to sons, barring lawsuits to force integration of minorities and women they continue to remain the same as they were in the 1970s era of consent decrees. FDNY - NYC Under court-ordered monitoring Currently hiring from a preferred list condensed from those minorities who passed all tests relevant to hiring and were on

4675-410: The concept of minority rights and bringing prominence to it. The League of Nations Minorities Commission defined minority in 1919 as "nationals belonging to racial, religious, or linguistic minorities". Protection of minority groups, such as through careful drawing of boundaries of states and proportional representation , was seen as integral in preventing causes of future wars. Louis Wirth defined

4760-446: The context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority". Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority , and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority. In terms of sociology, economics, and politics,

4845-519: The court to "direct entry of a final judgment" when multiple parties are involved, and Rule 58 describes the procedure of how parties may enter judgment. Additionally, Rule 60 describes conditions under which parties can be granted "relief from a judgment or order" (such as a consent decree). As Rule 48 in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure stipulates that dismissals in criminal cases may not occur without "leave of court", Rule 41 allows, if all

4930-556: The creation of new recruitment and hiring procedures to gain a more diverse pool of job applicants, upgrading job and promotion assignment systems, or offering training programs focusing on discrimination and diversity. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was created to be a major advocate and enforcer of the previously mentioned Title VII remedies. In

5015-401: The difference in physical or psychological functioning rather than inferiority. For example, some autistic people argue for acceptance of neurodiversity , much as opponents of racism argue for acceptance of ethnic diversity. The deaf community is often regarded as a linguistic and cultural minority rather than a group with disabilities, and some deaf people do not see themselves as having

5100-516: The dominant group, (3) a shared sense of collective identity and common burdens, (4) socially shared rules about who belongs and who does not determine minority status, and (5) tendency to marry within the group. There is a controversy with the use of the word minority, as it has a generic and an academic usage. Common usage of the term indicates a statistical minority; however, academics refer to power differences among groups rather than differences in population size among groups. The above criticism

5185-524: The dominant group. As these differences are usually perceived negatively, this results in loss of social and political power for members of minority groups. There is no legal definition of national minorities in international law, though protection of minority groups is outlined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities . International criminal law can protect

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5270-425: The failure of the dominant English -speaking majority to integrate French Canadians has provoked Quebec separatism . Others assert that minorities require specific protections to ensure that they are not marginalized: for example, bilingual education may be needed to allow linguistic minorities to fully integrate into the school system and compete equally in society. In this view, rights for minorities strengthen

5355-590: The first consent decree used in antitrust regulation under the Sherman Antitrust Act was Swift & Co. v. United States . With Swift & Co. v. United States , the Supreme Court ruled that a consent decree could be modified or terminated only when new developments over time bring out a "grievous wrong" in how the ruling of the consent decree affects the parties of the suit. The Supreme Court supported this limited flexibility of consent decrees in United States v. Terminal Railroad Association : "[A] decree will not be expanded by implication or intendment beyond

5440-544: The following are disadvantages of using consent decrees: The consent decree can impact those outside of the parties , who resolve their disputes with a consent decree, especially in settling institutional reform and antitrust cases. From Rufo v. Inmates of the Suffolk County Jail and Swift & Co. v. United States , the Supreme Court acknowledges that "the effects of the decree on third parties and

5525-526: The freedom to choose their religion, including the right to convert from one religion to another, or not to have any religion ( atheism and/or agnosticism ). However, in many countries, this freedom is constricted. In Egypt , a new system of identity cards requires all citizens to state their religion—and the only choices are Islam , Christianity , or Judaism (See Egyptian identification card controversy ). In most societies, numbers of men and women are roughly equal . Though women are not considered to be

5610-645: The imposition of a state tax law derived from ‘ Proposition 2½ ’ which caused the elimination of some 200 black firefighters until the layoffs were reversed by funds directly acquired by the city to re-hire them. NYC used the 1975 fiscal crisis to not proceed with court-ordered hiring of black firefighters as a result of a ruling in a 1973 lawsuit filed by the Vulcan Society. Around the country various ploys to prevent blacks from being hired as firefighters were disguised as fiscal austerity to provide cover for politicians who had no allegiance to nor fear of voter backlash from

5695-650: The integration of those fire departments. Integration and black and minority hiring in those cities while stormy, went ahead. The IABFF played a role in the lawsuits that dotted the landscape in the 70's and 80's. Once chapters were organized around the country, legal avenues were opened to force diversity. In other cities integration of the fire services were not the case, notably Boston('75), Birmingham('81), Miami('77), Memphis('74, '80), San Francisco('70), Chicago, Omaha, Austin, St. Louis ('75), Hartford and Los Angeles('74); where consent decrees forced ‘quotas’ to be imposed in hiring firefighters to mostly white departments due to

5780-443: The legal foundations that govern the use of consent decrees. Creating space for courts, which are important actors in implementing a consent decree, to enter into a settlement, Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure gives federal district courts the power to approve class action settlements as long as they are "fair, reasonable, and adequate". Rule 54(b) defines judgment , which refers to consent decree, and allows

5865-406: The meaning of its terms when read in the light of the issues and the purposes for which the suit was brought." In 1968, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. United Shoe Machinery Corp. , that to promote finality, a court's changes to consent a decree should be rare—but the courts can modify a consent decree or frame injunctive relief to ensure the litigation achieves its purpose. Before

5950-593: The minority communities which disproportionately suffered from firehouse closings. For example, black and Puerto Rican neighborhoods in NYC saw 27 firehouses closed in the early 1970s, resulting in an epidemic of building fires, leading to some areas within those neighborhoods losing 80% of the housing stock, which in turn led to overcrowding in adjacent areas followed by a diffusion of the chaos and more fires and loss of housing in those areas. This chain reaction saw social collapse and vast areas turned into urban deserts wholly lacking

6035-509: The minority group equal social status and legal protections as held by members of the dominant group. Prior to the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) , the term "minority" primarily referred to political parties in national legislatures, not ethnic, national, linguistic or religious groups. Such minority parties were powerless relative to the majority (or plurality) political group. The Paris Conference has been attributed with coining

6120-413: The nation-building project, as members of minorities see their interests well served, and willingly accept the legitimacy of the nation and their integration (not assimilation) within it. Consent decree A consent decree is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case ) or liability (in a civil case ). Most often it

6205-762: The need to improve fire prevention programs in the areas of greatest need. The meeting resulted in the founding of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters . In October 1970, the first convention of Black Professional Fire Fighters was held in Hartford, Connecticut . The IABPFF is currently led by President Carrie Edwards-Clemons. Southwest Region Northeast Region Vulcan Society , The Valiants , Vulcan Blazers , Phoenix Society , Boston Society of Vulcans Southeast Region Brothers and Sisters Combined Central Region The Stentorians , Black Firefighters Association The IABPFF Medal of Honor

6290-406: The offending party would be committed for contempt . Decrees by consent are more binding than those issued in invitum , or against an unwilling party, which are subject to modification by the same court, and reversal by higher courts. The decree issued by consent cannot be modified, except by consent. If the decree was obtained by means of fraud or given by mistake, it may be set aside by

6375-433: The parties agree, the court to dismiss any suit besides class action suits , shareholder derivative suits , or bankruptcy action. Many of these rules create the space for consent decree by establishing the role of judges within the settlement of two parties. Many of the early court cases involving consent decree set precedents for the roles that judges would play in the negotiating, approving, interpreting, and modifying

6460-436: The people they rule all belong to the same nationality rather than separate ones based on ethnicity. The United States asks for race and ethnicity on its official census forms, which thus breaks up and organizes its population into sub-groups, primarily racial rather than national. Spain does not divide its nationals by ethnic group or national minorities, although it does maintain an official notion of minority languages, that

6545-503: The politics of some countries, a "minority" is an ethnic group recognized by law, and having specified rights. Speakers of a legally recognized minority language , for instance, might have the right to education or communication with the government in their mother tongue. Countries with special provisions for minorities include Canada , China , Ethiopia , Germany , India , the Netherlands , Poland , Romania , Russia , Croatia , and

6630-661: The presidency. There is debate over recognizing minority groups and their privileges. One view is that the application of special rights to minority groups may harm some countries, such as new states in Africa or Latin America not founded on the European nation-state model, since minority recognition may interfere with establishing a national identity. It may hamper the integration of the minority into mainstream society, perhaps leading to separatism or supremacism . In Canada , some feel that

6715-598: The recognition of LGBTQ+ people as members of a minority group. These inequalities include social discrimination and isolation, unequal access to healthcare , employment, and housing, and experience negative mental and physical health outcomes due to these experiences. Leading up to the Human Rights Act 1998 in the UK, a rise in the awareness relating to how disabled people were being treated began. Many started to believe that they were being denied basic human rights. This act had

6800-460: The regulations and administration procedures of water policy within the United States, particularly through the Clean Water Act . Scholars find advantages and disadvantages to using the consent decree. In addition, consent decrees can affect those outside of the litigants, such as third parties and public interests . The following are advantages of using consent decrees: In contrast,

6885-541: The rights of racial or ethnic minorities in several ways. The right to self-determination is a key issue. The Council of Europe regulates minority rights in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . In some places, subordinate ethnic groups may constitute a numerical majority, such as Blacks in South Africa under apartheid . In

6970-482: The terms sexual and gender minority are often not preferred by LGBTQ+ people, as they represent clinical categories rather than individual identity. Though lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender , and queer (LGBTQ+) people have existed throughout human history, they represent a numerical and social minority. They experience numerous social inequalities stemming from their group membership as LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ rights movements across many western countries led to

7055-469: Was a civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination and ensures that people with disabilities have equal access to the opportunities and benefits available to the wider American population. Institutions that violate the requirements of the ADA enter consent decrees typically resulting in a payment from the corporation to those wronged, which may serve to discourage future discrimination, in addition to

7140-476: Was established to honor those members whom through their contributions in leadership and activism, mentorship and dedication to the ideals of the IABPFF, is both constant and unyielding. In 2017, IABPFF conferred its Medal of Honor Award to retired NYFD Lt. Ormond Smith. He served the Vulcan Society and the IABPFF in service to these ideals. The IABPFF Medal of Valor was established to recognize acts upholding

7225-469: Was lifted in 2013), Baltimore , Ferguson, Missouri , Seattle , Portland , and Albuquerque . On June 16, 2023, Minneapolis officials promised to enter into negotiations for a consent decree to be enforced by the DOJ in response to a scathing June 2023 US Department of Justice report resulting from a multiyear federal investigation into the "patterns and practices" of Minneapolis Police Department following

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