Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services

Decided June 5, 2025. Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 23-1039 · 605 U.S. 303 (2025) · Cited 47 times

Holding

The Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” rule—which requires members of a majority group to satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard to prevail on a Title VII discrimination claim—cannot be squared with either the text of Title VII or the Court’s precedents.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine · 450 U.S. 248 (1981)
• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• United States Postal Service Board of Governors v. Aikens · 460 U.S. 711 (1983)
• McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston · 469 U.S. 111 (1985)
• Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A. · 534 U.S. 506 (2002)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa · 539 U.S. 90 (2003)
• Bostock v. Clayton County · 590 U.S. 644 (2020)
• Stewart Organization, Inc. v. Ricoh Corp. · 487 U.S. 22 (1988)
• Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters · 438 U.S. 567 (1978)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• O'CONNOR v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp. · 517 U.S. 308 (1996)
• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Comcast Corp. v. National Assn. of African-American Owned Media · 589 U.S. 327 (2020)
• Vance v. Ball State Univ. · 570 U.S. 421 (2013)
• League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry · 548 U.S. 399 (2006)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2025). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).