Sherice Sargent v. School District of Philadelphia
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Vacated
Reversing the district court’s summary judgment, the Third Circuit held that a reasonable fact-finder could find that Philadelphia’s 2022 selective-school Admissions Policy was adopted with a racially discriminatory purpose and had a discriminatory impact, thus requiring strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. The panel vacated the judgment and remanded for further proceedings so that a fact-finder can resolve intent and impact questions.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether a plaintiff challenging a facially-neutral, even-handedly applied government policy under the Equal Protection Clause must show BOTH discriminatory purpose and discriminatory impact (dual-prong test) or whether proof of discriminatory purpose alone suffices to trigger strict scrutiny.
Circuit Positions
Both discriminatory purpose AND discriminatory impact are required to trigger strict scrutiny (dual-prong test).
Proof of discriminatory purpose alone is sufficient; disparate impact need not be shown.
Conflict Summary
The Third, Fourth, First, Second and Fifth Circuits read Arlington Heights as imposing a conjunctive test that requires the challenger to establish both discriminatory purpose and a disparate impact before strict scrutiny applies. The Seventh and Eighth Circuits hold that proof of discriminatory purpose by itself is enough; a separate showing of disparate impact is not required.