⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hears oral argument in Surface versus Pacillas. Two former supervisors of the El Paso Police Department challenge their terminations, which followed a departmental investigation into complaints of sexual harassment. The district court's opinion describes one of them, a lieutenant, as white, and the other, a sergeant, as Hispanic. That difference drives the comparator dispute on appeal. By the district court's account, both were arrested in twenty twenty-three on misdemeanor charges of official oppression, and neither was ultimately prosecuted. The officers claim they were victims of selective enforcement, discriminated against because of their race, and retaliated against in violation of their First Amendment rights. They filed claims under Title Seven, Section 1981, and Section 1983. The district court granted summary judgment to the city and its police chief on all claims. The core legal issues on appeal are whether the plaintiffs established a prima facie case of race discrimination by identifying adequate comparators, whether they raised genuine disputes of material fact about probable cause for their arrest, and whether the city had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for their terminations. The appeal turns on the sufficiency of the summary judgment record and on how the Supreme Court's recent retaliatory arrest decisions apply here.

Surface v. Pacillas (No. 25-50786) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued August 4, 2026.