Ricardo Luis JAUREGUI, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF GLENDALE, Defendant-Appellant

I.

Officer Ricardo Luis Jauregui is an Hispanic police officer serving in the City of Glendale Police Department (“the City”). Hired as a police officer in 1973, Officer Jauregui has repeatedly, yet unsuccessfully, sought promotion to the rank of Sergeant. Since 1980, he has reached the final stage of the Police Department’s promotional process on seven occasions.

The City’s process for promoting police officer candidates to the supervisory rank of sergeant includes both a written and an oral examination, as well as points attributed for time on the job and the candidate’s most recent performance evaluation. After the tests have been scored and the points attributed, a list is created from which the three persons ranked highest are “certified” (in order of rank) by the Civil Service Commission to the Police Department, in what is traditionally called the “rule of three.” Then, from that list of three candidates, the Chief of Police and the four Police Captains select the officer who will be promoted. This selection committee “assesses the suitability” of a candidate by using a combination of objective documentary criteria and subjective factors, including the candidate’s…