Gloria Allred Wants To File Brief In Jones Case
LOS ANGELES (AllPolitics, April 28) -- Gloria Allred, a California lawyer who often injects herself into highly publicized cases, said Tuesday she will ask the appeals panel reviewing the Paula Jones suit against President Bill Clinton to allow her to file a "friend of the court" brief.
Jones vs. Clinton was dismissed on April 1 by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright, but Jones has announced she would appeal her sexual harassment lawsuit to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Wright ruled that Clinton's alleged conduct, even if true, did not constitute sexual assault.
Allred said her brief would focus on what a plaintiff must charge to meet the legal standard for sexual harassment. "In our opinion one act, if severe, is sufficient to constitute sexual harassment," Allred told reporters.
Allred said she has not contacted Jones or her attorneys and was not filing the brief "to help or hurt either of the parties."
She said she would file on behalf of the Women's Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund, a California non-profit organization.
"We have made this decision because we believe that there are important legal issues, including the definition of sexual harassment which are before the court," Allred said.
"A decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals could have serious legal consequences for many women who in the future wish to exercise their legal right to sue for sexual harassment in the workplace," she said.
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