Also known as: discriminatee · discriminator · employment discrimination
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct or treatment that disadvantages individuals on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, sex, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or similar traits. The term encompasses both explicit classifications and practices that produce unequal burdens without a legitimate independent justification.
Diana Delgado sits on the bench in a district where an exclusive social club limits membership to men. She learns that the club excludes women from full participation and continues to pay dues and attend events there. The judicial conduct commission investigates whether her ongoing affiliation violates the prohibition on membership in organizations that practice invidious discrimination.
Daniel Diaz, a partner at a large firm, repeatedly interrupts and dismisses comments from female associates during client strategy sessions while treating male associates with respect. Associates file a grievance alleging that the pattern creates a hostile environment tied to gender. The disciplinary board examines whether the conduct in practice-related settings meets the standard for professional misconduct.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
During jury selection in a criminal trial, the prosecutor strikes all Black venire members while accepting similarly situated white jurors. Defense counsel makes a record showing the pattern and requests an explanation. The trial court must decide whether the strikes rest on race-neutral reasons or instead reflect purposeful exclusion.
Dolores Diaz applies to rent an apartment from a landlord who routinely turns away applicants from certain national-origin backgrounds. The landlord cites no objective qualification but consistently rejects applications matching Diaz's profile. The tenant-protection statute limits the landlord's freedom to refuse the relationship on such grounds.
Destiny Davis and her partner of a different race seek a marriage license in a state that still enforces a statutory prohibition on interracial unions. They file suit claiming the law imposes an impermissible racial classification. The court must determine whether the statute survives the strictest level of review.
Darius Dixon, a Black student, is assigned to a separate public school solely because of race under a state-mandated dual system. His family sues, arguing that the separation denies equal educational opportunity. The Supreme Court must decide whether the classification can be sustained under the Equal Protection Clause.
A defendant must first make a prima facie showing that peremptory challenges were exercised on racial grounds. The burden then shifts to the prosecutor to offer a race-neutral explanation. The trial court determines whether purposeful discrimination has been proven.
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No. The rule reaches harassment or discrimination in any conduct related to the practice of law, including client meetings, negotiations, and firm interactions.
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Isolated attendance at an event in a facility the judge cannot join does not violate the rule when the attendance could not reasonably be perceived as an endorsement of the organization's practices.
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Racial classifications are subject to the most rigid scrutiny and cannot be upheld absent a legitimate purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination.
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…results of the doctrine had become apparent. Diversity of citizenship jurisdiction was conferred in order to prevent apprehended discrimination in state courts against those not citizens of the State. Swift v. Tyson introduced grave discrimination by non-citizens against citizens. It made rights enjoyed under the unwritten…