Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Fort Bend County, Texas v. Lois M. Davis

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 16-20640 · judgment June 20, 2018

Decided · June 3, 2019

Pre-decision estimate: 6% cert probability (95% interval 4%–8%)

Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).

Question presented

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., requires plaintiffs to exhaust claims of employment discrimination with the EEOC before filing suit in federal court. Id. § 2000e-5(b), (f)(1). The question presented is: Whether Title VII's administrative exhaustion requirement is a jurisdictional prerequisite to suit, as three Circuits have held, or a waivable claim-processing rule, as eight Circuits have held.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Colleen Elizabeth Roh Sinzdak
Milbank LLP

For respondent
Raffi Melkonian
Wright, Close & Barger LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
7 merits
(3 supporting pet./neither, 4 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued April 22, 2019 — Colleen E. Roh Sinzdak · Raffi Melkonian. Audio and transcript

Decided June 3, 2019. Opinion by Ginsburg.

Proceedings

Jul 05 2019
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
Jun 03 2019
Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
Apr 22 2019
Argued. For petitioner: Colleen E. Roh Sinzdak, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Raffi Melkonian, Houston, Tex.; and Jonathan C. Bond, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.)
Apr 12 2019
Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
Apr 12 2019
Reply of petitioner Fort Bend County filed. (Distributed)
Apr 03 2019
Brief amicus curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
Apr 03 2019
Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (Distributed)
Apr 03 2019
Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. (Distributed)
Apr 03 2019
Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
Apr 03 2019
Brief amici curiae of National Employment Lawyers Association and The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law & Policy filed. (Distributed)
Mar 27 2019
Brief of respondent Lois Davis filed. (Distributed)
Mar 21 2019
Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit.
Mar 20 2019
CIRCULATED
Mar 04 2019
Brief amici curiae of Center for Workplace Compliance, et al. filed.
Mar 04 2019
Brief amici curiae of National Conference of State Legislatures, et al. filed.
Feb 27 2019
Brief amicus curiae of Professor Scott Dodson in support of neither party filed.
Feb 25 2019
Brief of petitioner Fort Bend County filed.
Feb 25 2019
Joint appendix filed.
Feb 11 2019
SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, April 22, 2019
Feb 04 2019
Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Fort Bend County.
Jan 29 2019
Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Lois Davis.
Jan 11 2019
Petition GRANTED.
Dec 26 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/11/2019.
Dec 26 2018
Reply of petitioner Fort Bend County filed. (Distributed)
Dec 21 2018
Letter waiving the 14-day waiting period under Rule 15.5 filed.
Dec 19 2018
Brief of respondent Lois Davis in opposition filed.
Nov 14 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 19, 2018.
Nov 12 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 19, 2018 to December 19, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
Oct 18 2018
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 19, 2018)