Jun Yu v. Idaho State University

Summary

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a bench trial judgment for Idaho State University in a Title VI intentional discrimination suit brought by a Chinese international student dismissed from a clinical psychology doctoral program. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding that the university’s actions were based on the student’s poor clinical performance, not race or national origin, and that the district court permissibly gave limited weight to expert testimony on “aversive racism” (unconscious/implicit bias). The panel declined to decide whether implicit bias evidence can prove intentional discrimination under Title VI, but the concurrence opined that such expert testimony will rarely be admissible because it usurps the jury’s credibility role, lacks scientific testing, and improperly treats a defendant’s race-neutral explanations as evidence of bias.

Holdings

1. The district court did not clearly err because its finding is plausible in light of the record, and there is substantial evidence that Yu was dismissed due to his inability to demonstrate clinical competence rather than discrimination.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court clearly erred in finding that Yu failed to prove intentional discrimination under Title VI.

Disposition

affirmed