Case Summary
Issue:
Whether the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause allows a government employer to reject the results of a civil service examination and election process, as required by the city charter, because it does not like the racial distribution of the test scores?
Plaintiff:
Frank Ricci and 16 other Caucasian and Hispanic candidates for Captain and Lieutenant of the New Haven Fire Department
Defendant:
Mayor John DeStefano; City of New Haven; Chief Administrative Officer Karen Dubois-Walton; Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude; Director of Personnel Tina Burgett; New Haven Civil Service Board members Malcolm Weber and Zelma Tirado
Amicus Curiae:
Mountain States Legal Foundation
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Case History
In 2003, the City of New Haven, Connecticut, sought to fill fire department captain and lieutenant vacancies by means of job-related examinations and merit-selection rules. Although great care was taken to ensure that the examination was job related, that it produced qualified applicants who were promoted on merit, and that it did not discriminate in any way against minority candidates and although no credible evidence was presented to suggest either that the testing was not completely adequate or that there was intentional discrimination in the examinations or in the fire department, the results of the test were unacceptable to the City because the process produced no African American candidate for captain or lieutenant. The City then decided to promote no one.
Mr. Ricci, who scored highest on the examinations, and others filed a lawsuit challenging the City’s decision. The District Court held that the “undesirable outcome” of the test “could subject . . . the City’s leadership to political consequences.” The District Court found that the City’s “good-faith” efforts were a defense against race-conscious action and that no race-conscious action took place as a result of the City’s failure to promote anyone because all candidates were treated the same—no one was promoted and the positions were not filled.
On appeal, a Second Circuit panel upheld the District Court’s decision. En banc rehearing was denied by a vote of 7-6. On January 9, 2009, U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari. On February 19, 2009, the Petitioners Frank Ricci, et al., filed their opening brief. On February 26, 2009, MSLF filed a friend of the court brief in support of Petitioners. Oral arguments were held on April 22, 2009.