Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 7 P10 pdf

as the test for pornography and obscenity in U.S. courts. RESOURCES Brockwell, P. Heath. 1993-1994. “Grappling With Miller v. California—The Search for an Alternative Approach to Regulating Obscenity.” Cumberland Law Review 24. Carter, T. Barton, Juliet Dee Lushbough, and Harvey L. Zuckman. 2006. Mass Communication Law in a Nutshell. Eagan, MN: West. Cohen, Daniel Mark. 2003. “Unhappy Anniversary: Thirty Years since Miller v. California: The Legacy of the Supreme Court’s Misjudgment on Obscenity.” St. Thomas Law Review 15 (spring). CROSS REFEREN CES Obscenity; Pornography. v MILLER, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON William Henry Harrison Miller served as U.S. attorney general from 1889 to 1893, in the administration of President BENJAMIN HARRISON. Miller, Harrison’s law partner and political adviser, was recognized for his incorruptibility. Miller was born on September 6, 1840, in Augusta, New York. His connection with Benja- min Harrison appeared preordained, because Miller was named after the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, the grandfather of Benjamin. Miller attended country schools and Whitestown Seminary before enrolling at Hamil- ton College, from which he graduated in 1861. He studied law in the office of future U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice MORRISON R. WAITE and was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1865. He started a law practice in Peru, Indiana, and also held the office of county school examiner. In 1866 he moved his law practice to Fort Wayne, Indiana. He remained there until 1874, when he moved to Indianapolis and became the law partner of General Benjamin Harrison. Harrison had achieved fame as a Civil War commander. For his heroism in leading the Seventieth Indiana Regiment, President ABRA- HAM LINCOLN promoted him to brigadier general. Upon his return to Indianapolis, Harrison began to build a political career. Miller entered Harrison’s law firm and the political arena. He soon became a trusted adviser to Harrison, who ran unsuccessfully for the Indiana governorship in 1876. Harrison later served in the U.S. Senate from 1881 to 1887, and in 1888 he was the Republican nominee for president. It was during the 1888 campaign that Miller served as a confidential adviser to Harrison, who defeated President GROVER CLEVELAND. Harrison, who had promised the country a Legal Deal, appointed six lawyers and two businessmen to his cabinet. Miller was named William Henry Harrison Miller 1840–1917 ❖ 1840 Born, Augusta, N.Y. 1861 Graduated from Hamilton College 1861–65 U.S. Civil War 1893 Returned to Indianapolis and resumed his law practice 1865 Admitted to Indiana bar ▼▼ ▼▼ 1875 1900 1825 1850 ◆◆ ◆◆ ◆ 1889–93 Served as U.S. attorney general under Benjamin Harrison ❖ 1925 1862 Served tour of duty as lieutenant in the Ohio Volunteers 1866 Began law practice in Ft. Wayne, Ind. 1874 Moved to Indianapolis and formed law partnership with Gen. Benjamin Harrison ◆ 1917 Died, Indianapolis, Ind. 1914–1918 World War l William Henry Harrison Miller. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 78 MILLER, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON attorney general, a position he held for the four years of the Harrison administration. In 1890 Congress passed the SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST ACT (15 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq.), which outlawed trusts and monopolies that restrained trade. Miller did not make any effort, however, to use the new legislation. The Harrison administration was un- touched by scandal, but an economic depres- sion in the West severely hurt the REPUBLICAN PARTY . Democrat Grover Cleveland defeated Harrison in the 1892 election. Miller returned to Indianapolis in March 1893 and resumed his law practice. He died on May 25, 1917, in Indianapolis. FURTHER READINGS “Collection on William Henry Harrison Miller.” 2005. Indiana State Library, Manuscript Section, Indiana Division. Justice Department. 1985. Attorneys General of the United States, 1789–1985. Washington, D.C.: GPO. Available online at http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/attygeneraldate.html; website home page: http://www.usdoj.gov (accessed July 8, 2009). Merrill, Brian. 2008. From George W. to George W.: The Presidents and Their Cabinets. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace. v MILLETT, KATHERINE MURRAY Katherine Murray Millett is a writer and sculptor who is best known for her ground- breaking work of feminist theory, Sexual Politics (1969). Although she abandoned literary criti- cism after writing that book, turning to works of fiction and autobiography, Sexual Politics became a starting point for scholars working in FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE. Millett was born on September 14, 1934, in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was educated at the University of Minnesota, Oxford University, and Columbia University. As a graduate student and part-time instructor in English at Columbia during the 1960s, she became active in the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT . Millett soon focused her attention on sexual DISCRIMINATION against wom- en. Her dissertation shifted from traditional literary criticism to an analysis of the sexual subordination of women in the works of nove- lists D. H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, and Norman Mailer. She was granted a Ph.D. degree in 1970, on the heels of the publication of Sexual Politics, a revised version of her dissertation. Overnight the book became a national bestseller, attracting both strong support and vitriolic opposition. Millett argued that in the twentieth century, social and technological Katherine Murray Millet 1934– ▼▼ ▼▼ 19251925 20002000 19751975 19501950 ◆ ❖ 1939–45 World War II 1950–53 Korean War 1961–73 Vietnam War ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ 1934 Born, St. Paul, Minn. ◆ ◆ ◆◆◆◆ 1956 Earned B.A. from University of Minn. 1969 Sexual Politics published 1964–70 Worked as part-time instructor at Barnard and Columbia 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor appointed to Supreme Court, becoming first female justice 1976 Sita published; women first admitted to U.S. military academies 1974 Flying published 1972 Shirley Chisholm became first woman to run for president and receive delegates at a national major-party convention 1990 Looney Bin Trip published 1994 Politics of Cruelty published 1995 A.D. published 1997 Sculpture retrospective held at University of Maryland 2001 Mother Millett published; papers collected at the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, Duke University Kate Millett. ª SOPHIE BASSOULS/ SYGMA/CORBIS GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION MILLETT, KATHERINE MURRAY 79 change had helped women in the United States to begin redefining gender roles. In the face of change, the male-dominated society had sought to preserve a patriarchal social structure and the patriarchal family through an ideology of sexual domination and violence. This ideology was most fully expressed in novels written by men and acclaimed by male intellectuals and critics. Millett charged D. H. Lawrence with glorify- ing masculinity, Henry Miller with exalting the sexual degradation of women, and Norman Mailer with promoting a cult of virility. She believed that writers served as a mirror for culture and helped to explain why women have been sexually subordinated. Sexual subordina- tion, in Millett’s view, is tied to the economic and political subordination of women. Sexual Politics was published before the field of feminist JURISPRUDENCE started. Mille tt’s analysis of sexual subordination in literature inspired feminist legal scholars to examine U.S. law for patriarchal influences. In their attacks on PORNOGRAPHY, law professor CATHARINE A. MACKINNON and writer ANDREA DWORKIN derived many of their ideas from Millett’s work. After writing Sexual Politics, Millett wrote Flying, an autobiography (1974), and a novel, Sita (1976). Her personal life was marked by periods of mental illness and institutionaliza- tion. She wrote about this part of her life in The Loony Bin Trip (1990). She published The Politics of Cruelty in 1994, which explored the use of torture in the modern world, and another memoir, A.D., in 1995. In the later 1990s Millett had difficulty finding work, and most of her books went out of print. In the early 2000s the University of Illinois republished Sexual Politics and several other of her works. In 2000 Millett became an adjunct professor at New York University. In 2001 she published Mother Millett, her story of caring for her dying mother. Millett used the money she made from Sexual Politics to establish the Women’s Art Colony Farm in Poughkeepsie, New York, which is still in existence as of 2009. She sells Christmas trees and art from the farm, which also serves as her primary residence. FURTHER READINGS Bullock, Alan, and R. B. Woodings, eds. 1983. 20th Century Culture: A Biographical Companion. New York: Harper & Row. Davis, Flora. 1999. Moving the Mountain: The Women’s Movement in America since 1960. Champaign: Univ. of Illinois Press. Evans, Sara. 1980. Personal Politics: The Roots of Women’s Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left. New York: Random House. Rose, Phyllis, ed. 1993. Women’s Lives. New York: Norton. CROSS REFERENCES Sex Discrimination; Women’s Rights. MILLIGAN, EX PARTE An 1866 Supreme Court decision, Milligan ex parte, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2, 18 L.Ed. 281, recognized that a civilian and citizen of a state that is not invaded by hostile forces during wartime is not subject to the jurisdiction of a COURT-MARTIAL. In 1864 Lambdin P. Milligan, a civilian, was arrested in Indiana for conspiracy, insurrection, and other crimes arising from his alleged involvement in organizing a secret military unit in the state to assist the Confederacy. His arrest and detention were made pursuant to the orders of General Alvin P. Hovey, commander of the military district of Indiana. He was brought to trial before a military commission in Indiana- polis, convicted, and sentenced to death. Milligan applied for a writ of HABEAS CORPUS to the Supreme Court, challenging the jurisdiction of the military commission to try and sentence him. The Court acknowledged that Article III, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution—which provides “that the trial of all crimes, except in cases of IMPEACHMENT, shall be by jury”— and other constitutional provisions safeguarded this right. It recognized, however, that in times of war, various civil liberties and the right to challenge illegal detention by a writ of habeas corpus may be suspended. MARTIAL LAW might be imposed, however, only where an actual inva- sion of enemy forces effectively stopped the operation of the civil government. The military argued that the designation of Indiana as a military district with a commander because of the constant threat of invasion by Confederate troops justified the imposition of martial law. The military commission, there- fore, had lawful jurisdiction under the “laws and usages of war.” The Court rejected this argu- ment. The state of Indiana had not opposed federal authority, its civil and criminal courts continued to operate during the war, and Milligan was a civilian who was not connected IT IS INTERESTING THAT MANY WOMEN DO NOT RECOGNIZE THEMSELVES AS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST ; NO BETTER PROOF COULD BE FOUND OF THE TOTALITY OF THEIR CONDITIONING . —KATHERINE MURRAY MILLETT GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 80 MILLIGAN, EX PARTE to the military. Although civil liberties and habeas corpus could be suspended in wartime, to permit the military commission to determine the fate of Milligan, a civilian, in a state which was loyal to the Union, and where there was only a mere threat of invasion and the courts were open, would usurp the powers of the courts in violation of the Constitution. The Court decided that the military commission had no jurisdiction over Milligan and therefore ordered Milligan’s release. MINE AND MINERAL LAW The law governing the ownership, sale, and operation of mines, quarries, and wells, and the rights to natural resources found in the earth. The extraction of natural resources from the earth is governed by specific laws dealing with mines and minerals. Federal and state govern- ments have mine and mineral laws to protect the health and safety of miners, encourage the efficient use of natural resources, protec t the environment, and raise tax revenues. A mine is an excavation in the soil and subsoil from which ores, coal, or other mineral substances are removed. A mineral is valuable, inert matter created by forces of nature and found either on or in the earth. A mineral right is the possessory interest in minerals in the ground. The owner of the mineral rights has the right to enter the land and occupy it for the purpose of removing the minerals. It is possible for someone to own the mineral rights and mine the minerals without owning the land itself. The federal government has played a large role in the exploitation of mineral resources by granting mineral rights, called PATENTS,to persons and companies that wish to mine on land owned by the federal government. The Mining Act of 1872 has remained unchanged since its enactment during the presidential administration of ULYSSES S. GRANT. The law tried to help small prospectors by making land more affordable. It set the price of mineral rights to federal property at between $2.50 and $5.00 an acre and gave prospectors the right to mine without paying ROYALTIES. A royalty is the payment by the lessor to the owner of the property of a percentage of the value of the minerals that are mined. The Mining Act of 1872 has drawn increased criticism since the 1980s because of the small amount of money companies pay to obtain minera l rights valued at millions and even billions of dollars and because the compa- nies do not have to pay a royalty to the federal government. Most of the federal land is located in the West. Western leg islators have been unwilling to amend the law, out of fear that changes would reduce employment and depress the mining industry. Attempts to amend the act to raise the price of mineral rights and to impose a royalty have met fierce resistance by western lawmakers and the mining industry, which is dominated by companies located outside the United States. Mining operations are considered one of the main sources of environmental POLLUTION. Under the Mining Act of 1872, mining compa- nies are not required to clean up mining sites that are on federal property. The ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY estimates that cleaning up fifty-five of the United States’ most dangerous mines will cost taxpayers $32 billion. On lands that are not owned by the federal government, state and federal environmental regulations require mining companies to clean up and restore their mining sites. Mining is a dangerous occupation. Since the late 196 0s, state and federal legislation has set numerous operating standards regarding dust and gas concentrations in the mines, as well as general rules regarding roof support. These provisions attempt to prevent explosions, mine collapses, and the breathing of tainted air. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C.A. § 801) is a comprehensive safety and health act that applies to all metal and nonmetal mines, including coal mines. CROSS REFE RENCES Environmental Law; Land-Use Control “The West Wrestles with D.C.” (In Focus); Law of the Sea; Miner’s Codes; Solid Wastes, Hazardous Substances, and Toxic Pollutants. MINERAL RIGHT An interest in minerals in land, with or without ownership of the surface of the land. A right to take minerals or a right to receive a royalty . Mineral right is a term encompassing all the ways a person can have a possessory interest in minerals in the ground. It includes the right to enter the land and occupy it in order to remove the minerals. Mineral rights can be retained when land is sold or conveyed, thus making it GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION MINERAL RIGHT 81 possible for someone to own the right to mine the minerals without owning the land. A right of entry onto the land can be held by the grantor who retains the mineral rights, or other arrange- ments can be made to gain access to the minerals. Mineral rights can be leased or sold. A landowner who leases mineral rights often receives a royalty, or a percentage of the value of the minerals which are mined by the leaseholder. CROSS REFEREN CE Mine and Mineral Law. MINER’S CODES During the era of Western settlement in the middle of the nineteenth century, various forms of primitive legal practices were instituted to bring order to the frontier; many formal legal codes evolved from these early precepts, includ- ing the Miner’s Codes. Originally the codes were various traditional laws that were respected throughout mining camps in the West. The codes were recorded, and their purpose was to establish guidelines for filing a nd determining c laims and arbitrating disagreements among miners. The miner’s “courts” rendered decisions in disputes, and the tenets of the codes guaranteed their enforcement. The Gregory Diggings Code of Colorado was the best example of a functioning system based on the laws of the Miner’s Code. The Gregory Code successfully produced a harmo- nious political and judicial system that was imitated by other mining towns. Between 1861 and 1862, the legislature of the Colorado territory formally adopted the canons of the Gregory Code. CROSS REFERENCE Mine and Mineral Law. MINIMUM CONTACTS See PERSONAL JURISDICTION. MINIMUM WAGE The minimum hourly rate of compensation for labor, as established by federal statute and required of employers engaged in businesses that affect interstate commerce. Most states also have similar statutes governing minimum wages. Along with a requirement for overtime pay and restrictions on child labor, the minimum- wage law is one of the most significant, substantive obligations created more than 50 years ago by the FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT of 1938 (FLSA) (29 U.S.C.A. §§ 201 et seq.). The FLSA culminated a l ong struggle for state and federal protective legislation for workers that had begun during the nineteenth century. The original campaign for minimum-wage legislation in the United States began at the state level and resulted from growing public concern about the prevalence of sweatshops—workhouses where recent immigrants, women, and young children were paid substandard wages. Propo- nents of minimum-wage legislation appealed to society’s sense of obligation to act through its elected officials to ensure an adequate standard of living for all working citizens. In 1912 Massachusetts, an industrial state, was the first state to enact minimum-wage legislation. The momentum continued, and by 1920, 13 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia had enacted minimum-wage pro- grams. The Great Depression moved even more states to enact protective minimum-wage legisla- tion, and 25 states by 1938 had some form of minimum-wage law. In creating minimum wage legislation, the states generally used three mini- mum wage models. The Massachusetts model established a wage commission that recom- mended voluntary minimum-wage rates based on what commission members determined was the best combination of a “living wage” for employees and the “financial condition” of the employer’sbusiness.Thenextmodelestablished a similar wage commission but disregarded the financial conditions of the employer, made the minimum wage compulsory, and established sanctions for non-compliance. The third law, Traditionally, respected regulations that governed mining camps in the frontier West were known as the Miner’s Codes. Such seemingly primitive laws can prove effective and evolve into formally adopted legislation. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION 82 MINER’ S CODES the Utah model, established a flat rate of minimum compensation for all covered workers. Despite the success of state legislatures in creating minimum-wage laws, state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional any legislation that interfered with an employer’s freedom to contract with employees over wages. Establishing the Fair Labor Standards Act Under the leadership of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, Congress passed the NATIONAL INDUS- TRIAL RECOVERY ACT OF 1933 (NIRA) (June 16, 1933, ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195). NIRA granted the president authority to establish minimum-wage and maximum-hour standards for all private- industry workers. Its legal basis was the federal government’s power to regulate interstate commerce. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the NIRA’s legal basis as unconstitutional in ALA Schechter Poultry v. United States, 295 U.S. 495, 55 S. Ct. 837, 79 L. Ed. 1570 (1935). From 1923 in Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U.S. 525, 43 S. Ct. 394, 67 L. Ed. 785, to 1937 in Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo, 298 U.S. 587, 56 S. Ct. 918, 80 L. Ed. 1347, the court consistently ruled against the constitutionality of all minimum-wage legislat ion. During his second administration, President Roosevelt worked with members of Congress to create a modified version of the labor provisions of the NIRA, and in 1937 the FLSA was introduced. Although national business lobbies and agricultural interests vigorously fought the proposed legisla tion—even organized labor did not support it—Congress passed the FLSA, and it was signed into law on June 25, 1938. Referring to the FLSA the night before signing the bill into law, President Roosevelt declared, “Except perhaps for the SOCIAL SECURITY Act, it is the most far-reaching, the most far-sighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted.” In a landmark decision in 1941 (United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 61 S. Ct. 451, 85 L. Ed. 609), the U.S. Supreme Court found the FLSA constitutional: [I]t is no longer open to question that the fixing of a minimum wage is within the legislative power and the bare fact of its exercise is not a denial of due process under the Fifth more than under the Fourteenth Amendment. Increasing the Minimum Wage The minimum-wage law has evolved significantly since the court declared it constitutionally sound in United States v. Darby. The federal minimum wage remains the same until Congress passes a Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming No state minimum wage law $7.15 $7.25 $6.25 $8.00 $7.28 $8.00 $7.15 $7.55 $7.21 $5.15 $7.25 $7.25 $8.00 $7.25 $7.25 $2.65 $7.25 No state minimum wage law $7.50 $7.25 $8.00 $7.40 $6.15 (large employer) $5.25 (small employer) No state minimum wage law $7.05 $7.25 $7.25 $6.85 $7.25 $7.25 $7.50 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.30 $7.25 (large employer) $2.00 (other employer) $8.40 $7.25 $7.40 No state minimum wage law $7.25 No state minimum wage law $7.25 $7.25 $8.06 $7.25 $8.55 $7.25 $6.50 $5.15 SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Wa g e and Hour Division. Minimum Hourly Wage, by State, in 2009 State Minimum Hourly Wage ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION MINIMUM WAGE 83 bill to raise it and the president signs the bill into law. The minimum wage started at 25¢ per hour, and Congress has increased it more than 20 times. Since the law was enacted, increases to the minimum wage have been signed into law by Presidents HARRY S. TRUMAN, DWIGHT D. EISEN- HOWER , JOHN F. KENNEDY, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, RICHARD M. NIXON, JIMMY CARTER, GEORGE H. W. BUSH, BILL CLINTON,andGEORGE W. BUSH.The increases in the minimum wage have been sporadic. The wage rose five times in the inflationary 1970s, but was unchanged for the last nine years of the 1980s. In 1989 the FLSA was amended to raise the minimum wage in two steps: from $3.35 to $3.80 per hour on April 1, 1990, and from $3.80 to $4.25 per hour on April 1, 1991. Subsequent amendments to the FLSA increased the federal minimum wage to $4.75 an hour on October 1, 1996, and to $5.15 an hour on September 1, 1997. The federal mini- mum wage then remained stagnant until the FLSA was amended in 2007, which established a three- step increase over the next three years: $5.85, effective on July 24, 2007; $6.55 effective on July 24, 2008; and $7.25 effective on July 24, 2 009. Under the FLSA, if a state’s minimum wage is lower than the federal minimum wage, then the federal minimum wage must be paid to workers in that state. If a state’s minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, then the state rate applies. After the July 24, 2009, increase to the federal minimum wage, the state minimum wage in 12 states and the District of Columbia was higher than that of the federal government: California ($8.00); Color- ado ($7.28); Connecticut ($8.00); District of Columbia ($7.55); Illinois ($8.00); Massachu- setts ($8.0 0); Michigan ($7.40); New Mexico ($7.50); Ohio ($7.30); Oregon ($8.40); Rhode Island ($7.40); Vermont ($8.06); and Washing- ton ($8.55). Although states can choose to increase their minimum wage at any time, many economists expected both the federal and state minimum wages to remain steady in the short term as American companies struggled to remain profitable amid the global economic downturn that began in 2008. Minimum Wage in U.S. Territories The minimum wage is significantly differen t in American Samoa and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. In 2007 Congress passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which was designed to eliminate the disparity between the minimum wage paid in those two territories and the minimum wage paid in the rest of the United States. 29 U.S.C.A. § 206(a)(1). The current minimum wage in both American Samoa and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands is considerably less than the current federal minimum wage. The Fair Minimum Wage Act provides for a longer phasing-in of higher minimum pay rates. In the Northern Mariana Islands, the minimum wage was raised to $3.55 an hour on July 24, 2007, and will be raised by $0.50 an hour on each May 25th thereafter until minimum wage reaches the federal minimum wage rate. The transition in American Samoa is more complicated because in American Samoa there are different mini- mum wages for different industries. The mini- mum wage for each industry in American Samoa was raised by $0.50 on July 24, 2007, and each year thereafter on May 25th, the minimum wage will be increased by $0.50 an hour until the applicable minimum wage reaches the federal minimum wage. Enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act The minimum wage is the most direct and definitive measure to guarantee workers a living wage, but the FLSA (and thus its minimum- wage provisions) does not protect all employees. In 1988 the FLSA did not cover about eight million of the approximately 110 million wage and salary earners in the United States because of coverage limits , nor another 28 million workers because of exemptions. The minimum-wage law can be enforced by employees themselves, by the secretary of labor, or by the attorney general. Under section 216(b) of the FLSA, employees can file suit in federal or state court to enforce their rights to minimum wages and overtime compensation. Employees also can seek redress if employers retaliate against them for trying to enforce their rights under the FLSA. The secretary of labor can enforce the act on behalf of employees under sections 216(c) and 217 by either filing a wage suit on behalf of the employees or by seeking an INJUNCTION. If a suit by either the employees or the secretary of labor is successful, the FLSA authorizes recovery of any unpaid minimum wages and/or overtime compensation. With some exceptions, the injured party may be able to recover an equal amount in LIQUIDATED DAMAGES , as well. In addition, employees who GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 84 MINIMUM WAGE win FLSA suits may be awarded attorneys’ fees. For repeated or willful violations of the minimum-wage provisions, the secretary is authorized to assess civil penalties, subject to administrative review, of up to $1,000 per violation (29 U.S.C.A. § 217(e)). Finally, the attorney general has the authority to file criminal actions for FLSA violations, although this authority has rarely been used. Although the FLSA is the most significant federal wage statute, a number of other laws impose minimum-wage obligations on entities that perform work for the federal government. For example, the DAVIS-BACON ACT (40 U.S.C.A. §§ 276a–276a–5) applies to contracts in excess of $2,000 to work on federal buildings or other public works; the Walsh-Healey Act (41 U.S.C. A. §§ 35–45) applies to employers that provide materials, supplies, and equipment to the United States under contracts exceeding $10,000; and the Service Contract Act (41 U.S. C.A. §§ 351–358) applies to contracts in excess of $2,500 to provide services to the federal government. These statutes all require contract- ing entities to pay workers the prevailing wage in the locality. FURTHER READINGS Cherry, Miriam A. 2009. “Working for (Virtually) Mini- mum Wage: Applying the Fair Labor Standards Act in Cyberspace.” Alabama Law Review. 60. Levitan, Sar A., and Richard A. Belous. 1979. More Than Subsistence: Minimum Wages for the Working Poor. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. Linder, Marc. 1990. “The Minimum Wage as Industrial Policy: A Forgotten Role.” Journal of Legislation 16. Neumark, David and William Wascher. 2008. “Minimum Wages and Low-Wage Workers: How Well Does Reality Match the Rhetoric?” Minnesota Law Review. 92 (May). Norlund, Willis J. 1988. “A Brief History of the Fair Labor Standards Act.” Labor Law Journal 39. Quigley, William P. 1996. “‘A Fair Day’s Pay for a Fair Day’s Work’: Time to Raise and Index the Minimum Wage.” St. Mary’s Law Journal 27. Waltman, Jerold L. 2000. The Politics of Minimum Wage. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Wright, Russell O. 2003. Chronology of Labor in the United States. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. CROSS REFERENCES Child Labor Laws; Employment Law; Labor Law; National Recovery Administration; New Deal. MINISTER See AMBASSADORS AND CONSULS; DIPLOMATIC AGENTS. MINISTERIAL Done under the direction of a supervisor; not involving discretion or policymaking. Ministerial describes an act or a function that conforms to an instruction or a prescribed procedure. It connotes obedience. A ministerial act or duty is a function performed without the use of judgment by the person performing the act or duty. MINITRIAL A private, voluntary, and informal type of ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The minitrial is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedure that is used by businesses and the federal government to resolve legal issues without incurring the expense and delay associated with court liti- gation. The minitrial does not result in a formal adjudication but is a vehicle for the parties to arrive at a solution through a structured settle- ment process. It is used most effectively when complex issues are at stake and the parties need or wish to maintain an amicable relation- ship. Though minitrials can be arranged under rules negotiated by the parties, they usually conform to procedures used by facilitators of ADR. The parties sign an agreement consenting to a minitrial and then each chooses a management representative to sit on the panel. These representatives have the authority to negotiate a settlement. The parties also select a “neutral adviser” to sit on the panel. The adviser must be independent and impartial, as this person will moderate the minitrial. If the parties cannot agree on a neutral adviser, the ADR facilitating agency may make the selection. The parties pay an equal share of the adviser’s fees and bear their own minitrial costs. Prior to the minitrial the parties select and then provide the neutral adviser with back- ground materials. The parties also file legal briefs and exhibits with the adviser that contain information they intend to present at what is termed the “information exchange.” This ex- change is, in effect, the minitrial. The parties must agree on the length of briefs and the due dates for documents. At the information exchange each party makes presentation, and each party is entitled to make a rebuttal. As with all other procedures, GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION MINITRIAL 85 the parties must either agree on the lengths of their presentations and rebuttals or let the neutral adviser set the time limits. During this information exchange the neutral adviser acts as a moderator rather than a judge. Factual witnesses and expert witnesses may also make presentations. The members of the panel may ask questions of the presenters. In addition to the lawyers representing the parties, each management representative may have advisers in attendance. After the conclusion of the information exchange, the management representatives meet by themselves to see if they can resolve the dispute. The information exchange should have revealed the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s case and motivated the representatives to settle the dispute. If they cannot resolve the dispute on their own, they may ask the neutral adviser to meet with them separately, or jointly, and give an oral opinion on the issues and the likely outcome at trial of each issue. The representatives may also ask the neutral adviser to issue a written opinion and to mediate the negotiations and settlement terms. If an agreement is reached it is set out in writing and signed by the representatives. The agreement is legally binding on the parties. If the parties cannot settle, the proceedings will termi- nate 30 days after the date of the information exchange. An important difference between a court trial and a minitrial is that the RULES OF EVIDENCE do not apply at the minitrial except for the rules governing PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS and attor- ney work product. Another difference is that minitrials are not recorded, so no transcript can be produced. Finally, the proceedings are tota lly confidential and any offers or statements made in the process are inadmissible at a court trial. FURTHER READINGS Mayer, Bernard. 2000. The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution. Indianapolis: Wiley. Moore, Christopher W. 2003. The Mediation Process: Practical Strategies for Resolving Conflict. 3d ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Nolan-Haley, Jacqueline. 2008. Alternative Dispute Resolu- tion in a Nutshell. 2d ed. Eagan, MN: Thomson West. MINOR An infant or person who is under the age of legal competence. A term derived fro m the CIVIL LAW, which described a person under a certain age as less than so many years. In most states, a person is no longer a minor after reaching the age of 18 (though state laws might still prohibit certain acts until reaching a greater age; e.g., purchase of liquor). Also, less; of less consideration; lower; a person of inferior condition. MINORITY The state or condition of a minor; infancy. Opposite of majority. The smaller number of votes of a deliberative assembly; opposed to majority. In context of the Constitution’s guarantee of EQUAL PROTECTION , minority does not have merely numer- ical denotation but refers to identifiable and specially disadvantaged groups such as those based on race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. v MINTON, SHERMAN Sherman Minton served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1949 to 1956. A strong supporter of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’s NEW DEAL policies when he served as a U.S. senator from Indiana, Minton main- tained a consistent judicial philosophy that allowed the legislative and executive branches wide discretion without judicial interference. Minton was born on October 20, 1890, in Georgetown, Indiana. He graduated from Indi- ana University in 1915 and earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1916. He entered the private PRACTICE OF LAW in Indiana but also devoted himself to DEMOCRATIC PARTY politics. In 1934 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served one term. While in the Senate, Minton was a staunch supporter of Roosevelt’s legislative efforts, including the president’splanto“pack” the Court with extra justices to break the conservative majority that had ruled many pieces of New Deal law unconstitutional. Minton lost his seat in the 1940 election. In 1941 President Roosevelt first appointed Minton to advise him on military agencies and planning and then nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. President HARRY S. TRUMAN, who got to know Minton when they served in the Senate togeth- er, elevated him to the Supreme Court in 1949. During his confirmation process, Minton re- fused to testify before the SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE , claiming it would be improper to testify. Surprisingly, the committee did not object. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 86 MINOR During his seven years on the Court, Minton maintained his belief that the judiciary should not intrude on the actions of the other branches unless absolutely required. His con- servative view led him to support decisions that upheld anticommunist policies such as LOYALTY OATHS and restrictions on the civil liberties of subversives. Minton, writing for the majority in Adler v. Board of Education, 342 U.S. 485, 72 S. Ct. 380, 96 L. Ed. 517 (1952), ruled that a New York statute that prohibited members of politically subversive groups from teaching in public schools was permissible. As a result of his deference to the other branches of government, Minton was the only dissenter in YOUNGSTOWN SHEET AND TUBE CO. V. SAWYER, 343 U.S. 579, 72 S. Ct. 863, 96 L. Ed. 1153 (1952). In this case President Truman had claimed executive authority when he seized U.S. steel mills in 1952 as the steel workers union went on strike. This occurred during the second year of the KOREAN WAR. Truman needed steel for war production and wanted to ma ke sure that a pay hike would not cause higher steel prices, which would increase inflatio n in the national economy. The majority rejected Truman’s claim to inherent executive power in the Constitution to protect the public interest in times of crisis. Minton sided with the president’s position. Minton suffered serious health problems for several years and resigned from the Court for health reasons in 1956. He died on April 9, 1965, in New Albany, Indiana. FURTHER READINGS Gugin, Linda C., and James E. St. Clair. 1997. Sherman Minton: New Deal Senator, Cold War Justice. Indiana- polis: Indiana Univ. Press. Radcliff, William F. 1997. “A Lawyer’s Biography of Sherman Minton.” Res Gestae 40 (June). ——— . 1996. Sherman Minton: Indiana’s Supreme Court Justice. Indianapolis, IN: Guild Press of Indiana. MINUTE BOOK An account where official proceedings are recorded. A minute book refers to a book kept by the clerk of a court for recording a summary of all the judicial orders in a proceeding. The records are identified by case numbers. It also refers to a record of official actions taken at a meeting of a board of directors or of the stockholders of a corporation. MINUTES The written record of an official proceeding. The notes recounting the transactions occurring at a Sherman Minton 1890–1965 ❖ 1890 Born, Georgetown, Ind. ◆ 1915 Earned LL.B. from Indiana University 1935–41 Served in U.S. Senate 1914–18 World War I 1965 Died, New Albany, Ind. 1939–45 World War II 1956 Assumed senior status 1950–53 Korean War 1961–73 Vietnam War ▼▼ ▼▼ 19001900 18751875 19251925 19501950 19751975 ❖ ◆ 1916 Earned LL.M. from Yale Law School 1937 Testified before Congress in support of Roosevelt's court-packing plan ◆◆ 1952 Wrote majority opinion in Alder v. Board of Education, dissented in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer 1949–56 Served as associate justice of the Supreme Court 1941 Appointed to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ◆ ◆ ◆ 1949 Declined to testify before Congress during confirmation hearings Sherman Minton. PHOTOGRAPH BY HARRIS & EWING. COLLECTION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. ONE’S ASSOCIATES, PAST AND PRESENT , MAY PROPERLY BE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINING FITNESS AND LOYALTY [FOR A JOB]. —SHERMAN MINTON GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION MINUTES 87 . wage law $7. 05 $7. 25 $7. 25 $6.85 $7. 25 $7. 25 $7. 50 $7. 25 $7. 25 $7. 25 $7. 30 $7. 25 (large employer) $2.00 (other employer) $8.40 $7. 25 $7. 40 No state minimum wage law $7. 25 No state minimum wage law $7. 25 $7. 25 $8.06 $7. 25 $8.55 $7. 25 $6.50 $5.15 SOURCE:. Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming No state minimum wage law $7. 15 $7. 25 $6.25 $8.00 $7. 28 $8.00 $7. 15 $7. 55 $7. 21 $5.15 $7. 25 $7. 25 $8.00 $7. 25 $7. 25 $2.65 $7. 25 No state minimum wage law $7. 50 $7. 25 $8.00 $7. 40 $6.15 (large employer) $5.25. Henry Harrison Miller. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 78 MILLER, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON attorney general, a position he held for the four years of the Harrison administration.