Baker v. City of Detroit
| Decision Date | 17 November 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 5-71937,5-72264.,5-71937 |
| Citation | 504 F. Supp. 841 |
| Parties | Kenneth BAKER, Arthur Bartniczak, Hanson Bratton, Patrick Jordan, Frank Krezowik, Elbert McVay and Robert Scally, Plaintiffs, and Hanson Bratton, Gale Bogenn, William Shell, Patrick Jordan, Charles Mahoney, Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated and The Detroit Police Lieutenants & Sergeants Association, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF DETROIT, a Municipal corporation; Philip G. Tannian, Chief of Police; Coleman A. Young, Mayor, City of Detroit; and The Board of Police Commissioners, City of Detroit, Defendants, and Guardians of Michigan, David L. Simmons, Arnold D. Payne, James E. Crawford, Clinton Donaldson, Willie Johnson, Kenneth M. Johnson and Alfred Brooks, Intervening Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
James P. Hoffa, Murray J. Chodak, Hoffa, Chodak & Robiner, Detroit, Mich., for plaintiffs in No. 5-71937.
K. Preston Oade, Jr., Bernard A. Friedman, Robert S. Harrison, Marc G. Whitefield, Lippit, Harrison, Perlove, Friedman & Zack, Southfield, Mich., for plaintiffs in No. 5-72264.
Beth J. Lief, Jack Greenberg, James M. Nabrit, III, O. Peter Sherwood, Napoleon B. Williams, Lowell Johnston, New York City, Barry L. Goldstein, Washington, D. C., James R. Andary, Sp. Asst. Corp. Counsel for the City of Detroit, George Matish, Anna Diggs-Taylor, Nancy McCaughan, James Zeman, Denise Page Hood, Law Dept., City of Detroit, Detroit, Mich., for defendants.
Warren J. Bennia, New York City, for intervening defendants.
FINAL OPINION
This case concerns the affirmative action program of the Detroit Police Department. Numerous opinions of this Court have discussed the program at length. After a long trial this Court entered an extensive opinion on October 1, 1979, upholding the City's affirmative action program. The only caveat in this Court's opinion was that some form of end-date needed to be placed on the program. To that end, this Court requested that the Board of Police Commissioners meet and establish an end-date, which this Court would review for reasonableness. The Board has met and established an end-date, and both sides have moved for entry of a final order in this case. In addition, the City defendants have moved for costs, and the intervenors have moved for attorney's fees. Each of these issues was heard at oral argument on March 19, 1980. At the hearing, this Court reviewed the Board of Police Commissioner's actions, and concluded that the end-date was appropriate and reasonable. The Court requested that the parties draw up a final order, and submit it to the Court. The parties have been unable to agree on a final order. Because of this, and because this Court reserved a ruling on costs and attorney's fees, this Court herein sets out its final opinion and judgment.
In its October 1, 1979 opinion, this Court approved the City of Detroit's affirmative action program as it related to promotions from Sergeant to Lieutenant.1 This Court endorsed the City's 50/50 Black/White promotions formula. This Court further endorsed those affirmative action promotions which had taken place up until that time. Because the Board of Police Commissioners had not established an end-period to the affirmative action promotions, this Court requested that the Board do so. The Board convened on three separate occasions for the purpose of establishing a termination point to the affirmative action plan. Public hearings were held, and counsel for the plaintiffs actively participated. The Board adopted the following final resolution on December 20, 1979:
As this Court noted in open court on March 19, 1980, the Board's 50% population-based affirmative action end-goal is reasonable. Direct support for this conclusion comes from D. P. O. A. v. Young, 608 F.2d 671 (6th Cir. 1979), rev'ng 446 F.Supp. 979 (E.D.Mich.1978). There, Judge Lively noted that "a ratio requirement equivalent to the racial proportion of the labor market ordinarily achieves the racial balance which would have existed but for discrimination." Id. at...
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