Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Kemal Kocak v. Harmony Public Schools
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 25-50426 · judgment January 14, 2026
Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and counsel who has filed here before.
Questions presented
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Whether Title VII permits courts to require, as a threshold element of a prima facie case, a comparator outside the broader protected group when the plaintiff alleges discrimination against a disfavored subgroup within a national-origin community.
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Whether a court may affirm summary judgment for an employer by crediting the employer’s post-incident narrative over objective video evidence, witness testimony, and sworn declarations from which a reasonable jury could find pretext.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Edward L. Pina
Edward L. Pina & Associates, P.C.
For respondent
Joseph Emil Hoffer
Schulman, Lopez, Hoffer & Adelstein, LLP
Case
Subject area
Civil Rights (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Order
Order list, June 8, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Jun 08 2026Petition DENIED.
- May 19 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/4/2026.
- May 18 2026Waiver of right of respondent Harmony Public Schools to respond filed.
- May 14 2026Waiver of right of respondent Harmony Public Schools to respond filed.
- Apr 14 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 18, 2026)