University of Tennessee et al. v. Elliott (478 U.S. 788)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided July 7, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 478 U.S. 788 · 106 S. Ct. 3220
- Decided
- July 7, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice White
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice White delivered the opinion of the Court. A state Administrative Law Judge determined that petitioner University of Tennessee (hereafter petitioner or University) was not motivated by racial prejudice in seeking to discharge respondent. The question presented is whether this finding is entitled to preclusive effect in federal court, where respondent has raised discrimination claims under various civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 2000e et seq., and 42 U. S. C. § 1983. h-i In 1981, petitioner informed respondent, a black employee of the University’s Agricultural Extension Service, that he would be discharged for inadequate work performance and misconduct on the job. Respondent requested a hearing under the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-101 et seq. (1985), to contest his proposed termination. Prior to the start of the hearing, respondent also filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, alleging that his proposed discharge was racially motivated and seeking relief under Title VII and other civil rights statutes, including 42 U. S. C. § 1983. The relief sought included damages, an injunction prohibiting respondent’s discharge, and classwide relief from alleged patterns of discrimination by petitioner. The District…
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