Washington V. Davis

Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229 (1976), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the application of the Due Process Clause. Two African Americans had applied for positions in the Washington, DC police department, and sued after being turned down. They claimed that the department used racially discriminatory hiring procedures, by implementing a test of verbal skills (Test 21), which was failed disproportionately by African Americans. The Court ruled against them, finding that use of the test did not violate the Due Process Clause. Since the respondents were filing the action in Washington, DC, they sued using the Fifth Amendment and not the Fourteenth Amendment, because the Equal Protection Clause only applies to the states.

The important general rule created by Washington v. Davis is that under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, "a law or other official act, without regard to whether it reflects a racially discriminatory purpose, unconstitutional solely because it has a racially disproportionate impact." Instead, a plaintiff must prove discriminatory motive on the state actor's part. The court noted that "disproportionate impact is not irrelevant, but it is not the sole touchstone of an invidious racial discrimination forbidden by the Constitution". The purpose-based standard elucidated in the Court's 1976 opinion has made it much more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in discrimination suits arising under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justice Byron White wrote the opinion for the majority. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a concurring opinion, while Justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall dissented.