GEORGIA HS ASSN v WADDELL 248 Ga 542
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GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL 248 Ga. 542, 285 S. E. 2 d 7 (1981) Case Brief Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL • PURPOSE: Some disputes are not legal disputes because no legally cognizable right is involved in the dispute. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL • CAUSE OF ACTION: Suit for equitable relief grounded in denial of due process and equal protection. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL • FACTS: Football game between Osborne and Lithia Springs in which referee assessed a penalty against Lithia Springs for “roughing the kicker, ” mistakenly giving Osborne a fourth down instead of a first down. Osborne was forced to kick and Lithia Springs went on to score and win the game in the few remaining minutes. Trial court found a denial of due process and equal protection, cancelled the final score and set a new game to begin at the point where the mistaken call was made. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL • ISSUE: Whether a referee’s mistaken call in a high school football game raises due process or equal protection issues. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL • HOLDING: No. (The court also declared that courts of equity do not have authority to review referee’s decisions because they do not raise judicial controversies. ) Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
GEORGIA HS ASSN v. WADDELL • REASONING: A high school football player has no right to participate in interscholastic sports and has no protectable property interest which would give rise to a due process claim. • Regarding the equal protection argument, the court reasoned in essence that every decision discriminates against the loser, but that does not make it a 14 th Amendment equal protection question. Copyright 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.
