Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Roddie Melvin v. Federal Express Corporation

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 19-11872 · judgment May 21, 2020


Certiorari denied · April 19, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and an Eleventh Circuit decision below, and down for a business respondent.

Question presented

In evaluating motions for summary judgment under employment discrimination laws, such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, must a court examine all the evidence together to determine whether a reasonable jury could find discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence (as required by the Seventh Circuit), or must the court apply a special heightened standard of proof that separately evaluates different pieces of evidence based on the “stage” of the inquiry or on whether the evidence is “direct” or “circumstantial” (as required by the Eleventh Circuit, among others)?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Amanda A. Farahany
Barrett & Farahnay, LLP

For respondent
Frederick L. Douglas
Federal Express Corporation

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Apr 19 2021
    Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Jobs With Justice GRANTED.
  2. Apr 19 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  3. Mar 24 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/16/2021.
  4. Mar 15 2021
    Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Jobs With Justice.
  5. Mar 04 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent Federal Express Corporation to respond filed.
  6. Feb 08 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 15, 2021)