Opinion ID: 679519
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Post-Enactment Evidence

Text: 31 Concrete Works lastly admonishes us to consider only evidence of discrimination that existed prior to Denver's enactment of the Ordinance. In other words, Concrete Works contends that any reports or studies that were published after September 4, 1990, the date the Ordinance was enacted, are devoid of probative value in assessing the constitutionality of the Ordinance. 32 In Croson, the Court underscored that a municipality must identify [the] discrimination ... with some specificity before [it] may use race-conscious relief. Croson, 488 U.S. at 504, 109 S.Ct. at 727 (emphasis added). Absent any pre-enactment evidence of discrimination, a municipality would be unable to satisfy Croson. However, we do not read Croson 's evidentiary requirement as foreclosing the consideration of post-enactment evidence. Indeed, post-enactment evidence, if carefully scrutinized for its accuracy, will often prove quite useful in evaluating the remedial effects or shortcomings of the race-conscious program. This is especially true in the instant case, where Denver first implemented a limited affirmative action program in 1983 and has since modified and expanded its scope. 33 The strong weight of authority endorses the admissibility of post-enactment evidence to determine whether an affirmative action contract program complies with Croson. See, e.g., Contractors Ass'n, 6 F.3d at 1003-04; Harrison & Burrowes Bridge Constructors, Inc. v. Cuomo, 981 F.2d 50, 60 (2d Cir.1992); Coral Constr., 941 F.2d at 921. In Contractors Association, as here, the challenger sought prospective relief in the form of a permanent injunction. The Third Circuit sensibly reasoned that [c]onsideration of post-enactment evidence is especially appropriate ... where the principal relief sought ... was an injunction, because it makes sense to consider all available evidence when contemplating prospective relief. Contractors Ass'n, 6 F.3d at 1004 (emphasis added). 34 We agree that post-enactment evidence may prove useful for a court's determination of whether an ordinance's deviation from the norm of equal treatment is necessary. Thus, evidence of discrimination existing subsequent to enactment of the 1990 Ordinance is properly before us.