Alexander, Director, Alabama Department Of Public Safety, Et Al. v. Sandoval

532 U.S. 275 (2001)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D accepted grants of financial assistance from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Transportation (DOT) and so subjected itself to the restrictions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, as amended, 42 U. S. C. §2000d et seq. Section 601 of that Title provides that no person shall, 'on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity' covered by Title VI. 42 U. S. C. §2000d. Section 602 authorizes federal agencies 'to effectuate the provisions of [§601] ... by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applicability,' 42 U. S. C. §2000d-1, and the DOJ in an exercise of this authority promulgated a regulation forbidding funding recipients to 'utilize criteria or methods of administration which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination because of their race, color, or national origin ... .' 28 CFR §42.104(b)(2) (1999). See also 49 CFR §21.5(b)(2) (2000) (similar DOT regulation). The State of Alabama amended its Constitution in 1990 to declare English 'the official language of the state of Alabama.' D decided to administer state driver's license examinations only in English. P, as representative of a class, brought suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama to enjoin the English-only policy, arguing that it violated the DOJ regulation because it had the effect of subjecting non-English speakers to discrimination based on their national origin. The District Court agreed. It enjoined the policy and ordered D to accommodate non-English speakers. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed and both courts rejected D's argument that Title VI did not provide respondents a cause of action to enforce the regulation.