Justice Denied While Cronies Rewarded: CA Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case
July 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Sadly, I must report to you that the California Supreme Court has refused to hear my case. With that action, the Supreme Court has blocked any further legal challenges to the university's decision in my case, and—adding insult to injury—lets stand the lower court ruling holding me liable for the university's court costs.
Although we have thus exhausted all avenues with regards to my legal case, we have not given up the struggle against discrimination in academic settings, and a court system that favors institutions over individuals. Maggie and I are determined to continue working to challenge the underlying issues of institutionalized racism, cronyism and retaliation at the heart of the case.
Throughout this legal battle, we have been honored to meet and work with so many amazing people like you; your energy has kept us going. This community of caring means more to us than you can imagine. We want to thank you all for your wonderful support, and to invite you to join us in our continuing efforts. Over the past five years, we have been truly comforted to know we are joined by people like yourselves, who are committed to ending academic discrimination against women, people of color and other marginalized groups.
One of the ways you can continue to help in the days and months ahead is to remain connected to us. Please send your suggestions about what aspects of this struggle stood out as the most significant for you, and any ideas you may have for organizing to raise awareness of these issues both within academia and outside of it. I am working on presentations and writing about my case, preparing items that others may be able to use in their efforts to be treated fairly within institutions of higher education. I also want to brainstorm with you about how we can work to change the system that we couldn't make work for us. The recent exposure of cronyism, corruption and greed at the top of the California State University system (see attached investigative article from the San Francisco Chronicle) suggests that such systemic change is long-overdue. We applaud Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez for his prompt call for a legislative audit of CSU and urge continued vigilance in holding university officials accountable.
We are disappointed with the Court’s decision in my individual case, but we will not give up and we will not go away. It feels as though the “moral arc of the universe” is interminably long at times, but we have no doubt that it ultimately “bends toward justice.”
Thank you for your ongoing support, your generosity, guidance and encouragement. You continue to uplift and sustain us, to give us strength and courage.
We promise you will be hearing from us again in the near future. Please continue to check the Pat Washington Support Committee website for upcoming events and activities: http://patwashington.org. As always, contributions to help offset accumulated and pending court costs and legal fees will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Pat Washington
Click here for ways you can help.
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