Civil Rights (Ford and Carter)

Question 1

Ford’s position on abortion

Answer 1

He supported “a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 States to make the choice”. This was his position as House Minority Leader in response to the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, which he opposed. He then came under criticism as his wife, First Lady Betty Ford, on an August 1975 interview for 60 Minutes, stated that Roe v. Wade was a “great, great decision”

Question 2

Ford supports the Equal Rights Amendment (1975) - it was never ratified

Answer 2

Ford was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, issuing Presidential Proclamation no. 4383, urging the US to ratify the ERA.

• its central underlying principle is that sex should not determine the legal rights of men or women.

Question 3

University of California V Bakke (1978)

Answer 3

A dispute of whether preferential treatment for minorities can reduce educational opportunities for whites without violating the Constitution. Four justices along with Justice Powell agreed to strike down the minority admissions program and admit Bakke. The other four justices dissented from that portion of the decision, but joined with Powell to find affirmative action permissible under some circumstances, though subject to an intermediate scrutiny standard of analysis.

Question 4

United Steelworkers V Weber (1979)

Answer 4

An area of discretion is left by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the private sector to voluntarily adopt affirmative action plans designed to eliminate conspicuous racial imbalance in traditionally segregated job categories. A temporary plan that mirrored Title VII and promoted more African-Americans than whites did not violate the Title. The Supreme Court held that Title VII of the CR Act of 1964 did not condemn temporary affirmative action plans.