Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.

In 1983, the City of Richmond (defendant) adopted a plan requiring prime contractors on city construction jobs to subcontract at least thirty percent of the contract's value to minority-owned businesses, based on studies showing minority firms received few city contracts despite the city's large minority population -- though there was no direct evidence the city itself had discriminated. J.A. Croson Co. (plaintiff), a prime contractor, lost a contract after failing to meet the thirty-percent set-aside and sued. The district court upheld the plan, and the court of appeals affirmed; the Supreme Court remanded for strict-scrutiny review, after which the court of appeals struck the plan down, and the City appealed.