Publications

Provides a brief background on sexual harassment hostile environment claims decided by the lower courts, summarizes the opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., and offers some observations on the possible effects of the Court's decision.

This paper is intended to serve as a reference source on the major issues that have arisen in diminished capacity cases in North Carolina. The paper discusses the following subjects: (1) the nature of the defense recognized in North Carolina; (2) the applicability of the defense to different offenses; (3) evidentiary problems in raising the defense; (4) the defendant's burden of presenting...

Summarizes a North Carolina Supreme Court decision regarding whether applications for employment are public records and thus subject to disclosure, or personnel records and thus confidential.

Summarizes Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, and its implications for local governments in North Carolina. This U.S. Supreme Court case held that any employment action_promotion, transfer, recall, hiring, as well as firing_violates the freedom of association and speech guaranteed by the First Amendment if it is based on political party affiliation except where party affiliation can be...