Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 3 P7 docx

It also provides grant money and technical assistance to the over three thousand Community Action Agencies and the Community Development Corpora-tions that are locally based throughout t

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summit conference with new Soviet leadership

in 1955, and HUAC investigations had precipi-tously tapered off Time had also given Amer-icans the opportunity to more accurately assess the minimal threat posed to national security by the Communist Party in the United States

Equally important, the Supreme Court was under new leadership Chief Justice Vinson died

in 1953 and was replaced EARL WARREN, a chief justice who began a legacy of greatly expanding the scope of civil liberties in the United States

Twelve years after Yates, the WARREN COURT

reiterated the First Amendment distinction between lawful subversive advocacy in the abstract and unlawful present incitement In Brandenburg v Ohio, 395 U.S 444, 89 S Ct

1827, 23 L Ed 2d 430 (1969), the Court reversed the conviction of aKU KLUX KLANleader under a state statute that prohibited advocacy of crime and violence as a necessary means to accomplish political reform Ohio Rev Code Ann § 2923.13 The Court held that a state could not forbid advocacy of force or violence except where such advocacy is directed to producing imminent lawless action and is likely

to incite or produce such action

FURTHER READINGS Boyer, Paul S 2001 Oxford Companion to United States History New York: Oxford Univ Press.

Bresler, Robert J 2004 Freedom of Association: Rights and Liberties Under the Law Denver, CO: ABC-CLIO.

Hall, Kermit L 2005 Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States 2d ed New York: Oxford Univ Press.

CROSS REFERENCES Freedom of the Press; Freedom of Speech.

COMMUNIST PARTY USA Known officially as the COMMUNIST PARTY USA

(CPUSA), the organization was formed in the United States in 1919, two years after the Russian Revolution had overthrown the mon-archy and established the Soviet Union Many American Communists had been members of theSOCIALIST PARTYof America, but that party’s socialist leadership opposed the Russian revolu-tion and expelled those members who sup-ported it The Communists were even more left-wing than the Socialists and attracted a number of radicals and anarchists as well as Communists By August 1919, only months after its founding, the Communist party had

60,000 members, while the Socialist party had only 40,000

The administration of President Woodrow Wilson, fearful that American radicals might attempt to overthrow the U.S government, began making mass arrests in the fall of 1919 Ultimately, 10,000 suspected subversives were arrested in what became known as the Palmer Raids (after U.S Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer), with 249 deported to Russia The Palmer Raids ended in May 1920, and the American Communists began to gain strength In 1924, the party founded a newspaper, The Daily Worker, which, at its peak, had a circulation of 35,000 That same year, the party nominated labor activist William Z Foster as its first candidate for U.S president Foster received 35,361 votes

By then, the party was concentrating on helping to build labor unions and improving workers’ rights They lobbied for higher wages,

a national retirement program, and unemploy-ment insurance With so many Americans affected by the Great Depression, the Commu-nist message sounded a note of hope to unemployed workers, and Foster received 102,991 votes in the 1932 presidential election Still, many people were more comfortable with the less radical Socialist party, whose candidate, Norman Thomas, received 884,781 votes The Spanish CIVIL WAR created a renewed interest in the Communist party, with many of its members opposing the government of Francisco Franco Many American Communists went to Spain to fight against Franco’s forces Once again, there was a mounting fear of

COMMUNISMin the United States The Commu-nist candidate for president in 1940, Earl Browder, was forbidden to travel within the United States and had to conduct his entire campaign through written statements and recorded speeches

During WORLD WAR II, the party had 75,000 members, and 15,000 registered Communists fought against Axis forces in Europe and Asia The alliance with the Soviets did not survive beyond the war’s end in 1945, and a wave of anti-communism swept the United States Although the Communist party in the United States was arguably less radical than it had been

in its early days (in 1948 the party endorsed the

PROGRESSIVE PARTYcandidate, former Vice Presi-dent Henry A Wallace, for PresiPresi-dent), theCOLD WAR created a spirit of considerable distrust

48 COMMUNIST PARTY USA

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In 1948 a dozen leaders of the party were

arrested for violating the Alien Registration Act,

which made it illegal to advocate or assist in

trying to overthrow the government

The House Un-American Activities

Com-mittee (HUAC) investigated individuals who

were thought to have Communist ties, and

Senator JOSEPH R MCCARTHY (R-Wis.) claimed

that Communists had infiltrated the federal

government Although many of these accused

Communists had either never been party

members or else had been involved briefly in

the 1930s when the party was more active in

organizing labor, invariably their lives were

shattered Membership in the Communist party

dropped to about 10,000 by 1957, even though

it was never illegal to be a member

During the 1960s the Communist party

became involved in the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

and also the antiwar movement Gus Hall,

longtime general secretary of the party, ran for

President in 1968 (the party had not run its own

candidate since 1940) and received only 1,075

votes He ran in subsequent years, and in 1976

he received 58,992 votes In 1988, instead of

running, Hall pledged his support to JESSE

JACKSON, who was seeking the Democratic

nomination for president

In the new millennium, the CPUSA

main-tains its commitment to the same political ideas

that drove the Russian Revolution, but it

embraces a more peaceful approach to creating

change and social justice Among the ideas it

actively supports are socialized medicine,

im-provedSOCIAL SECURITYbenefits, stronger

legisla-tion to protect the environment, and full

funding for education The party also seeks

greater cooperation with other political groups,

believing that the best way to effect change is

through the strength of broad-based coalitions

Some U.S Supreme Court cases in which

the Communist Party USA was a party include

Communist Party v SACB, 351 U.S 115 (1956);

Communist Party USA v Subversive Activities

Control Board No 12, 367 U.S 1 (1961); and

Communist Party of Indiana v Whitcomb, 414

U.S 441 (1974)

FURTHER READINGS

COPS Office Available online at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov

(accessed July 15, 2009).

Oliver, Willard M 2007 Community-Oriented Policing:

A Systematic Approach to Policing Englewood Cliffs,

NJ: Prentice-Hall.

USAonwatch.org National Sheriffs’ Association:

Neighbor-hood Watch Program Available online at http://www.

usaonwatch.org (accessed July 15, 2009).

COMMUNITY PROPERTY

The holdings and resources owned in common by

a husband and wife

Community PROPERTY LAW concerns the

distribution of property acquired by a couple

duringMARRIAGEin the event of the end of the

marriage, whether byDIVORCEor death of one of

the parties In COMMUNITY PROPERTY states all

property accumulated by a HUSBAND AND WIFE

during their marriage becomes joint property

even if it was originally acquired in the name of

only one partner The states that utilize a

community property method of dividing

resources were influenced by the CIVIL LAW

system of France, Spain, and Mexico

Laws vary among the states that recognize

community property; however, the basic idea is

that a husband and wife each acquire a one-half

interest in what is labeled community property

A determining factor in the classification of a

particular asset as community property is the

time of acquisition Community property is

ordinarily defined as everything the couple owns

that is acquired during the marriage with the

exception of separate property owned by either

of them individually Separate property is that

property that each individual brings into the

marriage, in addition to anything that either

spouse acquires by INHERITANCE during the

marriage

Generally, four types of property acquired after marriage amount to community property:

earnings, damages obtained from a PERSONAL INJURY suit, damages awarded in an industrial accident action, and rents and profits from separate property

Divorce

In many community property law states, a husband and wife may enter into a PREMARITAL AGREEMENT that there will be no community property Divorce terminates the community relationship in all community property states;

however, the manner in which the property is divided differs

Upon the dissolution of a marriage, the source of property becomes important in determining whether an asset is community or separate property Ordinarily, separate property includes that which is acquired through gift,

DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION, and devise or bequest

Each partner in a PROPERTY SETTLEMENT reac-quires whatever he or she owned prior to the marriage

In some states, community property is divided equally; in others, the division is based

on the court’s discretion In certain jurisdic-tions, the guilt of a spouse in a divorce action can be a factor in reducing his or her share of the community property

Inheritance Laws

Each spouse owns one-half of the couple’s property in community property states, and, therefore, when a husband or wife dies only

a Alaska allows couples to possess community property, but it

is not mandated by law.

SOURCE: Internal Revenue Service, Publication 555,

available online at http://www.irs.gov/publications/

p555/ar01.html (accessed August 14, 2009).

• Arizona

• California

• Idaho

• Louisiana

• Nevada

• New Mexico

• Texas

• Washington

• Wisconsin

ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE,

A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING.

COMMUNITY PROPERTY 51

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one-half of the marital property is inheritable because the surviving spouse owns in his or her own right one-half of the marital property

COMMUNITY SERVICE

A sentencing option for persons convicted of crimes

in which the court orders the defendant to perform

a number of hours of unpaid work for the benefit

of the public

A person convicted of a criminal offense may be required to complete a sentence of

COMMUNITY SERVICE directly or as an express condition of PROBATION Typically, the commu-nity service will involve performance at a facility that has been authorized by the court or probation department Community service is appropriate when it is reasonably designed to repair the harm caused by the offense

COMMUNITY SERVICES, OFFICE OF The Office of Community Services (OCS) was established within theDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HUD) by section 676 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (95 Stat 516; 42 U.S.C 9905) Its mission, as stated

on its website, is to “work in partnership with states, communities, and other agencies to provide a range of human and economic development services and activities which ameliorate the causes and characteristics of poverty and otherwise assist persons in need.”

The goals of OCS services and programs are to help individuals and families become self-sufficient and to revitalize communities throughout the United States

The OCS administers the Community Services block grant and discretionary grant programs established by section 672 (95 Stat

511; 42 U.S.C 9901) and 681 (95 Stat 518; 42 U.S.C 9910) of the Reconciliation Act The office awards approximately $3 billion in block grants and approximately $77 million in discretionary grants It also provides grant money and technical assistance to the over three thousand Community Action Agencies and the Community Development Corpora-tions that are locally based throughout the United States

The Office of Community Services manages the Social Services Block Grant and Community Services Block Grant programs Discretionary grant programs funded by the office include the

Assets for Independence program, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, the Rural Community Facilities program, the Com-munity Economic Development program, the Job Opportunities for Low Income Individuals Program, the Compassion Capital Fund, and the Strengthening Communities Fund created under the American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act of 2009 Discretionary grants are awarded under a competitive process

FURTHER READINGS Office of Community Services Website Available online

at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ (accessed September 22, 2009).

CROSS REFERENCE President of the United States.

COMMUTATION Modification, exchange, or substitution

Commutation is the replacement of a greater amount by something lesser To com-mute periodic payments means to substitute a single payment for a number of payments, or to come to a“lump sum” settlement

InCRIMINAL LAW, commutation is the substi-tution of a lesser punishment for a greater one Contrasted with CLEMENCY, which is an act of grace eliminating a sentence or punishment, commutation is the modification or reduction

of a punishment

The change from consecutive prison sentences

to concurrent sentences is a commutation of punishment

COMPACT

An agreement, treaty, or contract

The term compact is most often applied to agreements among states or between nations on matters in which they have a common concern The Constitution contains the COMPACT CLAUSE, which prohibits one state from entering into a compact with another state without the consent

of Congress

COMPACT CLAUSE

A provision contained in Article I, Section 10, Clause 3, of the U.S Constitution, which states,

“No State shall, without the consent of Congress

… enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State.” Intended to curtail the increase of

52 COMMUNITY SERVICE

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political power in the individual states that might

interfere with the supremacy of the federal

government or impose an unconstitutional burden

on interstate commerce in violation of the

Commerce Clause

COMPANY

An organization of individuals conducting a

commercial or industrial enterprise A

corpora-tion, partnership, associacorpora-tion, or joint stock

company

COMPARABLE WORTH

Comparable worth is the idea that men and

women should receive equal pay when they

perform work that involves comparable skills

and responsibility or that is of comparable worth

to the employer; the concept is also known as pay

equity

Many jobs are segregated by sex For

example, approximately 80 percent of all office

secretaries are female, and approximately 99

percent of all construction workers are male

Both jobs demand valuable, if different, skills

However, the annual income of a secretary is

only three-fifths that of a construction worker

COMPARABLE WORTH seeks to remedy this and

other sex-based wage inequities by identifying

and eliminating sex as an element in wage

setting

The term comparable worth describes the

notion that sex-segregated jobs should be

reanalyzed to determine their worth to an

employer In practice, comparable worth

con-sists of raising wages for traditionally

female-dominated jobs to the level of those for

comparable male-dominated jobs Comparable

worth should not be confused with equal pay

for equal work Rather, comparable worth

policies promote equal pay for comparable

work

Proponents of comparable worth argue that

SEX DISCRIMINATIONin wage setting has been built

into society and has tainted the law of supply

and demand Women have endured centuries of

devaluation, and the devaluation is reflected in

the value attached to work traditionally

per-formed by females According to supporters,

wages should be reset after comprehensive

studies are made and statistical analyses

under-taken to better reflect the true value produced

by an employee

Some critics of comparable worth maintain that wage fairness is achieved by allowing free-market forces to set the value of jobs They argue that employers, not the courts or legislatures, should set wages and that sufficient legislation is already in place to prevent discrimination based on sex They further argue that wage disparities are largely a result of innocent forces, such as differences in experi-ence and education, the tendency of women to make educational choices that do not interfere with childbearing and child rearing, and the tendency of women to leave and reenter the job market more frequently than men

Other critics of comparable worth, includ-ing some women’s rights advocates, argue that comparable worth efforts are well-intentioned but misplaced According to these opponents, the best way for women to win wage equality is

to integrate fully into all sectors of the economy

Comparable worth may work to the immediate benefit of those in traditionally female-identified jobs, critics contend, but it fails to promote long-term advancement for women

Generally, employees in a wage system based on comparable worth are paid according

to job evaluations that concentrate on the differences between sex-segregated jobs The job evaluations are conducted by vocational experts who examine the various characteristics

of each job in the system, including the skill, education, and effort required; the level of independent decision making required; the

During World War

II, many women took jobs in what had traditionally been male fields of work Ten years after the war ended, the Census Bureau released figures showing that women earned only 64 percent of what men earned.

FDR LIBRARY COMPARABLE WORTH 53

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working conditions; and accountability The job evaluations yield a point total for each job, which is used to determine employee compensation

In 1955 the U.S Census Bureau published, for the first time, the ratio of women’s to men’s full-time, year-round, median annual earnings

The figures revealed that women were earning

64 percent of what men were earning This imbalance persisted In 1960 women aged 25 to

34 earned 65 percent of what men in the same age group earned In 1980 the same women, now aged 45 to 54, were earning only 54 percent

as much as men in the same age group Census

figures for 1980 also disclosed that full-time, year-round female professionals were earning less than semiskilled male blue-collar workers, and female college graduates were earning less than male high school graduates who had not attended college

Women’s pay became a national issue after the enormous contribution of women to the workforce in WORLD WAR II, and a simmering controversy shortly after the 1955 census report The U.S Congress took action by passing the

EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963 (29 U.S.C.A § 206[d]) (EPA) The EPA mandates the same pay for all persons who do the same work, without regard

to sex This means that an employer may not discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying lower wages to women who perform the same work as men In 1964 Congress enacted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.A § 2000e-2[a]), which provides that employers may not discriminate

in employment practices on the basis of race, color,RELIGION, national origin, or sex Like the EPA, Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against women by paying them less than they pay males who perform the same work

Women’s rights advocates and LABOR UNION

leaders were inspired by these bold federal acts and sought to implement them In the fight against sex-based wage discrimination, women began to demand not only equal pay for equal work, but also equal pay for comparable work States, cities, and towns began experimenting with the idea of wage restructuring based on comparable worth studies In 1977, with the support of ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D-D.C.), then chair of the EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION(EEOC), comparable worth came to national attention Women’s rights advocates adopted the slogan Fifty-nine Cents, which represented, according to Judy Goldsmith, past president of the NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN(NOW), “the plain frightening fact that most women are paid just over half as much as men for the very same work.” The comparable worth movement grew, but not without opposi-tion In 1985 PresidentRONALD REAGANdescribed comparable worth as a“cockamamie idea.” The state of Washington was at the forefront

of the comparable worth movement In 1974 Washington began a study of sex-related differences for a selected group of sex-segregated positions in the state CIVIL SERVICE The study

SOURCE: U.S Census Bureau, “Historical Income Tables,” available online at

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/incpertoc.html (accessed on

August 14, 2009).

Median Income of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, by Gender,

1970 to 2007

Median income

$0

$5,000

1970

1980

1990

$9,814

$5,440

$28,979

$20,591

$38,891

$29,123

$46,224

$36,167

$11,591

$19,173

2000

2007

$10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 $30,000 $35,000 $40,000 $45,000 $50,000

Men Women

ILLUSTRATION BY GGS

CREATIVE RESOURCES.

REPRODUCED BY

PERMISSION OF GALE,

A PART OF CENGAGE

LEARNING.

54 COMPARABLE WORTH

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revealed that female employees in job classes

requiring the same level of skill, effort, and

responsibility earned 25 to 35 percent less than

employees in comparable male-dominated

posi-tions Despite these figures, the state legislature

declined to implement comparable worth laws

Two more studies were conducted, in 1976 and

1980, and both corroborated the findings of the

first study

The Washington Legislature continued to

reject comparable worth In 1981 the EEOC

refused to take action on charges filed with it

against the state of Washington by the American

Federation of State, County, and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME) and the Washington

Federation of State Employees (WFSE) On July

20, 1982, AFSCME and WFSE filed a CLASS

ACTION suit against the state (AFSCME) The

case was initiated by eight women and one man

on behalf of all the male and female employees

under the jurisdiction of the Washington

Department of Personnel and the Washington

Higher Education Personnel Board, who had

worked or were working in positions that were

70 percent or more female The government

employees alleged that the state had

discrimi-nated against employees in female-domidiscrimi-nated

jobs by paying them lower wages than

employ-ees in comparable male-dominated jobs This,

according to the state employees, violated Title

VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 The district

court for the Western District of Washington

agreed and awarded $400 million in back pay to

female state employees

The state of Washington appealed, and the

U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

overturned the award (AFSCME (770 F.2d 1401

[1985]) In its opinion, the NinthCIRCUIT COURT

declared that an employer may set wages

according to the prevailing market rate even if

that market discriminates against women

According to the court, the value of a particular

job is only one of several elements that influence

the wages that the job commands Another

element, noted the court, is job availability The

court further recognized that the state in this

case did not itself create any economic disparity

Although the state was free to institute a

comparable worth policy, it could not be

obliged “to eliminate an economic inequality

that it did not create.” Ultimately, the court held

that, absent a discriminatory motive, it would

not interfere with the state’s decision to base

wages on prevailing market standards

After the appeals court decision, AFSCME, WFSE, and the State of Washington negotiated

a comparable worth framework for state employees The framework was based on the state’s plan, which called for a gradual move to restructure its employees’ wages on the basis of comparable worth Washington now maintains

a comparable worth statute, Revised Code of Washington, section 41.06.155, which mandates the achievement of comparable worth for all state government employees

San Jose, California, was another early battleground for comparable worth proponents

In 1979, city government workers went on strike to protest wage disparities After a nine-day strike, the city agreed to provide payEQUITY

adjustments and other salary adjustments to city workers In 1983 and 1990 additional compa-rable worth adjustments were gained by the San Jose chapter of AFSCME

Comparable worth has been won in numer-ous quarters through COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Montgomery County, Maryland, workers nego-tiated pay equity increases in 1989, and in 1992, Montgomery County school employees received

$484,000 in pay equity increases In 1991 the Utility Workers of America negotiated a 15 percent pay equity increase for clerical workers

in the Southern California Gas Company In

1991 and 1992 clerical workers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike at Columbia University in New York

After a ten-month strike, an agreement was reached that included pay equity increases for both male and female workers

Many courts are unwilling to order employ-ers to enact comparable worth pay standards in the absence of legislation Thus, comparable worth advocates have turned to the legislative process Minnesota has been an enduring model for achieving comparable worth through legis-lation In 1979 the Minnesota Department of Finance completed a study that included an evaluation of state and local government jobs

In 1981 the Council on the Economic Status of Women established the Task Force on Pay Equity to examine salary differences between comparable male and female jobs in state government The task force report showed consistent inequities between comparable male-and female-dominated jobs, male-and the Minnesota state legislature passed the State Government Pay Equity Act in 1982 (1982 Minn Laws c 64,

§ 1 et seq.) In 1983 the legislature provided the

COMPARABLE WORTH 55

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funds for pay increases, and the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations (DOER) negotiated new contracts for state employees

These contracts included pay equity increases for underpaid female-dominated job classes and cost-of-living increases for all job classes

In 1984 the Minnesota state legislature enacted the Local Government Pay Equity Act (Minn Stat Ann §§ 471.991 et seq.), which mandated a comparable worth program for cities, counties, school districts, and other units

of local government In 1987 and 1988 the legislature passed laws that assessed fines for local government units that did not report according to provisions of the Local Govern-ment Pay Equity Act In 1996 a DOER report revealed that 92 percent of local government units in Minnesota had achieved pay equity

Those not in compliance with reporting requirements were subject to penalties of up

to 5 percent of state funding, or $100 per day

Pay equity is a growing movement that builds on progress made in the 1980s During that time, 20 states adjusted their payrolls to ameliorate sex or race inequities; seven of these states fully implemented broad-based compara-ble worth laws for their state government employees States continue to lead in the area

of pay equity For example, New Hampshire has established reporting requirements and enforce-ment procedures to ensure fair pay; Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming have passed legislation requiring studies in comparable worth; and Maine’sDEPARTMENT OF LABORassists

in enforcing existing pay equity laws in the state

In the early twenty-first century, compara-ble worth legislation was introduced in over half the state legislatures On the federal level, two newer pieces of legislation were introduced in

2003, neither of which had been enacted by

2009 The Fair Pay Act seeks to broaden the Equal Pay Act protections against wage discrim-ination to workers in equivalent jobs with similar skills and responsibilities, even if the jobs are not identical The Paycheck Fairness Act is an attempt to provide better remedies to workers who are not being paid equal wages for doing equal work Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act would amend the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

FURTHER READINGS Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics 2002 Highlights

of Women’s Earnings in 2001 (Report 960) Available

online at www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2001.pdf (accessed March 5, 2010)

National Committee on Pay Equity Available online at www.feminist.com/fairpay/index.htm (accessed March 5, 2010).

CROSS REFERENCES Affirmative Action; Employment Law

COMPARATIVE RECTITUDE The principle by which a divorce is awarded to the party whose fault is less serious in cases where both spouses allege grounds that would justify a divorce

The idea of fault inDIVORCEactions stemmed from the idea that a MARRIAGE remained alive until one partner’s guilt destroyed it This gave rise to problems such as people lying in court to obtain a divorce when both parties mutually wanted to end the marriage

When a divorce based upon COMPARATIVE RECTITUDE occurs, the spouse with less fault might acquire rights denied to the other spouse, such as the right to remarry A divorce of this type, also called a least-fault divorce, is rarely granted This is due to the increasing number of states that have adopted no-fault divorce laws, eliminating fault as a ground for divorce

COMPELLING STATE INTEREST SeeSTRICT SCRUTINY

COMPENSATION

A pecuniary remedy that is awarded to an individual who has sustained an injury in order

to replace the loss caused by said injury, such as workers’ compensation Wages paid to an em-ployee or, generally, fees, salaries, or allowances The payment a landowner is given to make up for the injury suffered as a result of the seizure when his or her land is taken by the government through eminent domain

COMPENSATORY DAMAGES

A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another

Compensatory damages provide a PLAINTIFF

with the monetary amount necessary to replace what was lost, and nothing more They differ from PUNITIVE DAMAGES, which punish a

56 COMPARATIVE RECTITUDE

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DEFENDANTfor his or her conduct as a deterrent

to the future commission of such acts In order

to be awarded compensatory damages, the

plaintiff must prove that he or she has suffered

a legally recognizable harm that is compensable

by a certain amount of money that can be

objectively determined by a judge or jury

One of the more heated issues facing the

U.S legal system during the past quarter

century has been the call for reform of states’

tort laws Health care providers and other

organizations have sought to limit the amount

of damages a plaintiff can receive for pain and

suffering because they claim that large jury

awards in MEDICAL MALPRACTICE cases cause

premiums on medical insurance policies to rise,

thus raising the overall costs of medical services

California took the lead in addressing concerns

with rising medical costs when it enacted the

Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, Cal

Civ Code § 3333.2 (1997) The act limits the

recoverable amount for non-economic loss,

such as pain and suffering, to $250,000 in

actions based on professionalNEGLIGENCEagainst

certain health care providers Although the

statute has been the subject of numerous court

challenges, it remains the primary example of a

state’s efforts to curb medical costs through tort

reform

Other states have sought to follow

Califor-nia’s lead, though efforts to limit compensatory

damages have met with considerable resistance

Opponents claim that because these limitations

greatly restrict the ability of juries and courts to

analyze the true damage that plaintiffs have

suffered, defendants avoid paying an amount

equal to the harm inflicted upon the plaintiffs

Medical organizations, such as the AMERICAN

MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, continue to advocate for

limitations on damages, however, and they have

sought to encourage state legislatures to enact

such provisions

CROSS REFERENCE

Damages.

COMPETENT

Possessing the necessary reasoning abilities or legal

qualifications; qualified; capable; sufficient

A court is competent if it has been given

jurisdiction, by statute or constitution, to hear

particular types of lawsuits

A testator is competent to make a will if he

or she understands what a will is and its effects, the nature and extent of the property involved, and the relationships with the people named in the will and those disinherited

COMPETENT EVIDENCE Information that proves a point at issue in a lawsuit

Competent evidence is admissible evidence

in contrast to incompetent or INADMISSIBLE

evidence

CROSS REFERENCE Evidence.

COMPLAINANT

A plaintiff; a person who commences a civil lawsuit against another, known as the defendant,

in order to remedy an alleged wrong An individual who files a written accusation with the police charging a suspect with the commission

of a crime and providing facts to support the allegation and which results in the criminal prosecution of the suspect

Once the suspect is indicted, the state becomes the complainant since the alleged wrong is considered a crime against the state

COMPLAINT The pleading that initiates a civil action; in criminal law, the document that sets forth the basis upon which a person is to be charged with an offense

Civil Complaint

A civil complaint initiates a civil lawsuit by setting forth for the court a CLAIM FOR RELIEF

from damages caused, or wrongful conduct engaged in, by the DEFENDANT The complaint outlines all of the plaintiff’s theories of relief, or causes of action (e.g., NEGLIGENCE, BATTERY,

ASSAULT), and the facts supporting each CAUSE

OF ACTION The complaint also serves as notice to the defendant that legal action is underway The Federal Rules of CIVIL PROCEDURE govern con-struction of complaints filed in federal courts

Many state courts follow the same rules as the federal courts, or similar rules

The caption opens the complaint and identifies the location of the action, the court, the docket or file number, and the title of the

COMPLAINT 57

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