Washington v. Davis

Facts of the case

After the applications of two blacks were rejected by the District of Columbia Police Department, the two men filed suit against Mayor Walter E. Washington. The men alleged that the Department's recruiting procedures, including a written personnel test, discriminated against racial minorities. They claimed that the test was unrelated to job performance and excluded a disproportionate number of black applicants.

Question

Did the recruiting procedures violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Conclusion

In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that the procedures and written personnel test did not constitute racial discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. The Court found that the Clause was designed to prevent official discrimination on the basis of race; laws or other official acts that had racially disproportionate impacts did not automatically become constitutional violations. The Court reasoned that the D.C. Police Department's procedures did not have discriminatory intent and were racially neutral measures of employment qualification.

Supreme Court of the United States

426 U.S. 229, 48 L. Ed. 2d 597, 96 S. Ct. 2040, 1976 U.S. LEXIS 154, SCDB 1975-113

No. 74-1492

1976-06-07

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