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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Mayor of Philadelphia v. Educational Equality League
Citation:
415 U.S. 605 (1974)Facts
In 1965, Philadelphia voters approved a public education supplement to their city charter establishing the structure of the Philadelphia Board of Education. The charter vested in the Mayor the power to appoint the nine members of the School Board from nominees submitted by the Educational Nominating Panel, which the Mayor also appointed. The Panel consisted of 13 members: four appointed from the citizenry at large and nine who had to be the highest-ranking officers of specified categories of citywide organizations. The Panel’s function was to seek qualified candidates for the School Board, interview them, and submit nominees to the Mayor.
Mayor Tate appointed the 1965, 1967, 1969, and 1971 Panels. The 1971 Panel had 11 whites and 2 Negroes. Shortly after Mayor Tate’s appointment of the 1971 Panel, respondents filed suit alleging that the Mayor had violated the Equal Protection Clause by discriminating against Negroes in his appointments. The District Court dismissed the complaint, finding insufficient evidence of discrimination. The Court of Appeals reversed, relying on statistical disparities, an alleged 1969 statement by Mayor Tate that he would not appoint more Negroes to the School Board, and the Deputy Mayor’s unfamiliarity with certain “black organizations” that could qualify for representation on the Panel.
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