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45 UCLA L. Rev. 1401 (1997-1998)
Public vs. Private Enforcement of Civil Rights: The Case of Housing and Employment

handle is hein.journals/uclalr45 and id is 1415 raw text is: PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS: THE CASE OF HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT Michael Selmi INTRO DUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1402 I. ENFORCEMENT OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT ................................................... 1405 A . The G overnment's Efforts ....................................................................... 1405 1. The Complaint Filing Process .......................................................... 1406 2. The A dm inistrative Process ............................................................. 1411 3. Proceeding to Judgment: Choice of Forum ...................................... 1415 B. Government Efforts Compared to the Private Bar .................................. 1416 C . Pattern and Practice Cases ...................................................................... 1422 1. Home Mortgage Discrimination ...................................................... 1423 2. Testing and Disparate Impact Cases ................................................ 1425 II. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: THE CASE OF THE EEOC ............................ 1427 A . Do Politics M atter? .................................................................................. 1430 B. Private Attorneys and the 1991 Act ....................................................... 1435 III. CAN THE GOVERNMENT EFFECTIVELY ENFORCE CIVIL RIGHTS? .................... 1438 A. Explaining the Government's Enforcement Policies ............................... 1439 1. Behavioral Incentives for Government Attorneys ........................... 1442 2. Theory in Action: The Justice Department's Em ploym ent Litigation .................................................................... 1447 3. Other Bureaucratic Constraints: The Government as a D efendant ................................................................................. 1450 B. Private Attorneys and Civil Rights Cases ............................................... 1452 C. The Role of the Government in Enforcing Civil Rights ......................... 1456 CONCLUSION .................................................... 1458 In this Article, Professor Michael Selmi contends that one important reason civil rights legislation has produced less change than originally expected is that most of the legislation entrusted principal enforcement to the federal govern- ment, and that enforcement has been seriously deficieni over time. Through a detailed empirical analysis, this Article compares the efforts of public and * Associate Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School. Earlier ver- sions of this Article were presented at the 1996 Law and Society Conference, Glasgow, Scotland and to the Faculty Workshop at George Washington University Law School. I am grateful for the comments I received at those presentations, as well as additional comments from Charlie Craver, Brian Landsberg, Wendy Parker, Robert Schwemm, and Jonathan Walker. Melissa Kotlow and Carlos Mas provided excellent research assistance, and Leslie Lee provided her usual outstanding library assistance. 1401

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