State Supreme Court reverses dismissal of school racial epithet complaint

The state Supreme Court on Monday took the unusual step of reversing two of its own decisions, ordering that a case involving a racial epithet used against a black student at Cheshire High School be taken up by the state's human rights commission. Cheshire school officials were challenging a lower court's ruling that the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities had jurisdiction over the case. In making Monday's ruling, the high court ruled unanimously that it erred in earlier decisions involving sending cases back to lower courts. "We conclude that ... this is one of those exceptional cases where, having become aware of the clear error of our ways, it is wiser to correct our errors now rather than wait for the legislature to do so," the justices wrote. The case at issue began in 1997 when Chillon Ballard and a black friend were suspended for three days from Cheshire High School for fighting with a white youngster who used the epithet against the two students. The white student was not suspended, and Ballard said racial harassment continued. [more ]