In 1977, Dothard vs. Rawlinson was brought to the Supreme Court
where Morris Dees argued
the cause for the Rawlinson in conjunction with Pamela S. Horowitz.
Dianne Rawlinson was denied a job as a "correctional counselor"
or prison guard because she failed to meet the minimum requirement
of 120 pounds to qualify for the job. Justice White concluded
that catching no obvious sign of discrimination, he dissented
in Dothard since Rawlinson does not meet the requirements for
a prison guard anyways. From Justice White's opinion, Rawlinson
seems to have applied in a place entirely ill-fitted for her height,
weight, and sex. However, the standards of Alabama for qualification
in terms of height and weight are shown in statistics to exlude
40% or the female sex and yet, only 1% of the male sex. Filing
a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Rawlinson
received a right-to-sue letter and challenged the Alabama standards
on behalf of herself and other women similarly situated. The Alabama
Board of Corrections, to which Rawlinson applied, houses four
major all-male penitentiaries whose facilities are largely open
and communal. Justice Stewart added in his opinion that 56 out
of 435 employees for the Alabama Board of Corrections were women
who had positions not within contact of the inmates. Although
meeting the standard requirements, women could compete equally
with men at about 25% of correctional counselor jobs. Since being
a correctional counselor requires close contact with inmates,
it seems as though the employment of women should be low. Meeting
the requirements are no problem since there is no written examination
and only an Alabama driver's license and a highschool education
are required, it is just the precaution on the state's part that
no damage comes upon itself while employing young females.
Archives: Supreme Court Justices Opinion of this
Case
