Reise v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin

E.H. Reise (plaintiff), who graduated in the top 5 percent of his class at the University of Wisconsin Law School, was not hired for a faculty position at the University (defendant). He sued, alleging the University refused to hire anyone outside a protected class and seeking $4 million for the mental anguish caused by the rejection. The University asked the trial court to order Reise to undergo a mental examination under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35, since his own damages claim put his mental state at issue. Reise objected that the exam would show nothing because he wasn't experiencing distress, but the trial court ordered the exam anyway, and Reise appealed to the Seventh Circuit.