⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit hears a race-discrimination appeal in Cory Lange's case against Anchor Glass Container Corporation. In 2018, Lange, a Black applicant, sought a selector-packer job and disclosed a prior felony drug conviction. Anchor declined to hire him and selected three white applicants; Lange alleged race discrimination under Title Seven. After an earlier summary judgment for Anchor, this court sent the case back for trial. A jury then found for Lange and awarded ninety thousand dollars in compensatory damages and one million dollars in punitive damages. The district judge reduced the combined award to three hundred thousand dollars under Title Seven's cap but left the liability verdict standing. Anchor now challenges whether the trial evidence supports that verdict, including what can be inferred from its shifting explanations and earlier white hires with criminal records. In a linked appeal, it contests fees for work on a planned lost-wages hearing that Lange chose not to pursue.

Cory Lange v. Anchor Glass Container Corporation (No. 25-3175, 26-1138) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued September 15, 2026.