Group 2: Chapter 7 Question 13 by Ara Molina

Court Decision:

The circuit court subsequently vacated the district court's decision and remanded the case for further proceedings, based on new evidence that was discovered.  

Group Decision:

In this case, Matthews was not a victim of gender discrimination. Gender discrimination is described as “limiting, segregating, or classifying employees or applicants in a way that would deprive individuals of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect their status as employees because of their sex.” The Plaintiff was not disenrolled on the basis of her being a woman, but rather that fact that she was homosexual. During the course of her service in the Army, and the Army Reserves, Matthews received several high performance ratings, promotions, and numerous performance related awards. Furthermore, her discharge from the Army was honorable. This demonstrates that the Plaintiff was not deprived of opportunities nor was her status as an employee affected because she was a woman. Her disenrollment from the ROTC came only after she willingly disclosed to her commander that she was a lesbian. By her disclosing this information, her commander found that she was in violation of ROTC and Army Reserve regulations; it was this violation that led to the Plaintiff’s disenrollment. Furthermore, the commander that was informed by Matthews that she was a lesbian, did not interfere with Matthews ability to participate in the WildeStein Club, therefore, the Plaintiff’s first amendment rights were not violated.