Washington v. Davis

Two Black applicants (plaintiffs) to the Washington, D.C. police department failed a verbal-skills test (Test 21) that Black applicants disproportionately failed, and they sued the mayor (defendant) claiming the test's racially disparate impact made the hiring practice unconstitutional regardless of intent; the district court ruled for the city, but the court of appeals reversed based on the disproportionate impact alone, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.