Patsy v. Board of Regents

457 U.S. 496 (1982)

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Patsy v. Board of Regents

United States Supreme Court
457 U.S. 496 (1982)

Facts

Georgia Patsy (plaintiff) alleged that despite exceptional performance evaluations, her employer, Florida International University (defendant), denied her several employment opportunities based solely on her race and sex. Patsy filed suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in federal district court. The district court dismissed the action on the pleadings for Patsy’s failure to exhaust state administrative remedies before filing suit. Patsy appealed. In a divided opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that before filing suit in federal court, Patsy first had to exhaust all adequate state administrative remedies but remanded the case to the district court to determine whether the state’s administrative procedures were adequate. Patsy appealed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Marshall, J.)

Concurrence (White, J.)

Dissent (Powell, J.)

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