Opinion ID: 773427
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Claims

Text: 62 In November 1998, after over four years of litigation, the district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the plaintiffs' equal protection claims. We review de novo grants of summary judgment. See Myers v. Hasara, 226 F.3d 821, 825 (7th Cir. 2000). Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 91 L. Ed. 2d 265 (1986). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, we construe all facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, drawing all reasonable and justifiable inferences in favor of that party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 91 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1986). If, however, the record as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no 'genuine issue for trial.' Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S. Ct. 1348, 89 L. Ed. 2d 538 (1986); see also Lindemann v. Mobil Oil Corp., 141 F.3d 290, 294 (7th Cir. 1998). 63 Plaintiffs assert that the ISP and individual ISP officers utilize impermissible racial classifications in determining whom to stop, detain, and search. Were this proven, it would amount to a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 813, 116 S. Ct. 1769, 135 L. Ed. 2d 89 (1996) ([T]he Constitution prohibits selective enforcement of the law based on considerations such as race . . . . [T]he constitutional basis for objecting to intentionally discriminatory application of laws is the Equal Protection Clause.). The Supreme Court, as well as federal courts across the country, have begun to address the potential implications of racial profiling. See Illinois v. Wardlow, 120 S. Ct. 673, 681 n.10 (2000) (discussing the conclusion of the New Jersey Attorney General that minority motorists have been treated differently than non-minority motorists during the course of traffic stops on the New Jersey Turnpike); United States v. Montero Camargo, 208 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (discussing [s]tops based on race or ethnic appearance); Martinez v. Vill. of Mount Prospect, 92 F. Supp. 2d 780, 782 (N.D. Ill. 2000) (Racial profiling of any kind is anathema to our criminal justice system . . . .); United States v. Leviner, 31 F. Supp. 2d 23, 33 (D. Mass. 1998) (Motor vehicle offenses, in particular, raise deep concerns about racial disparity.). 7 64 Even civil rights litigation must, however, satisfy the requirements of our equal protection jurisprudence. To show a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, plaintiffs must prove that the defendants' actions had a discriminatory effect and were motivated by a discriminatory purpose. See Pers. Adm'r of Mass. v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256, 272-74, 99 S. Ct. 2282, 60 L. Ed. 2d 870 (1979); Arlington Heights v. Metro. Housing Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 264-66, 97 S. Ct. 555, 50 L. Ed. 2d 450 (1977); Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 239-42, 242, 96 S. Ct. 2040, 48 L. Ed. 2d 597 (1976). We examine each element in turn.
65 To prove discriminatory effect, the plaintiffs are required to show that they are members of a protected class, that they are otherwise similarly situated to members of the unprotected class, and that plaintiffs were treated differently from members of the unprotected class. See Greer v. Amesqua, 212 F.3d 358, 370 (7th Cir. 2000), cert denied, 121 S. Ct. 568, 148 L. Ed. 2d 487 (2000); Johnson v. City of Fort Wayne, Ind., 91 F.3d 922, 944-45 (7th Cir. 1996). Chavez and Lee may show that the ISP treated them differently than other similarly situated individuals by naming such individuals or through the use of statistics, an issue which we explore in greater depth below. See, e.g., United States v. Armstrong, 517 U.S. 456, 467, 116 S. Ct. 1480, 134 L. Ed. 2d 687 (1996) (noting that the similarly situated requirement was met by the indisputable evidence in Hunter v. Underwood, 471 U.S. 222, 105 S. Ct. 1916, 85 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1985), that Blacks were 1.7 times as likely as whites to suffer disfranchisement under the law in question). 66
67 Lee did not attempt to name a similarly situated individual who was not stopped or searched. Chavez alleges that Katherine Austin--the white female from the public defender's office who was following him at the time of his stop-- was a similarly situated individual treated differently. To determine whether Austin was similarly situated to Chavez we must look at all relevant factors, the number of which depends on the context of the case. Radue v. Kimberly- Clark Corp., 219 F.3d 612, 617 (7th Cir. 2000). 68 While we have repeatedly discussed the similarly situated requirement in the context of employment discrimination cases, these discussions are rarely extensive and do not provide any magic formula for determining whether someone is similarly situated. This is due, seemingly, to the essentially factual nature of the inquiry. Different factors will be relevant for different types of inquiries--it would be imprudent to turn a common-sense inquiry into a complicated legal one. In determining who is similarly situated, we have also been careful not to define the requirement too narrowly. See, e.g., Freeman v. Madison Metro. Sch. Dist., 231 F.3d 374, 382-83 (7th Cir. 2000); cf. Radue, 219 F.3d at 619 (noting that the similarly situated requirement requires employees to demonstrate that they shared common features essential to a meaningful comparison to ensure that the employee who received the more favorable treatment was similarly situated). 69 Defendants allege that George Koutsakis--the individual stopped by the ISP whom Chavez was emulating--was a similarly situated individual who was treated the same as Chavez. The district court agreed, and determined that Chavez failed to show that he was treated any differently than a similarly situated white motorist. See Chavez v. Ill. State Police, 27 F. Supp. 2d 1053, 1067 (N.D. Ill. 1998). The district court found that Austin was not similarly situated because she was female, drove a different color car with a non-California plate, did not have the same items visible in her car, and did not receive a warning ticket. See id. The court also stated that the fact that [Austin] was following Chavez essentially prevented Trooper Thomas from subjecting her to the same treatment as Chavez--he was engaged with Chavez at the time. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307, slip op. at 22 (N.D. Ill. July 10, 1997). 70 We do not agree with the district court's treatment of this issue. The relevant inquiry is whether a similarly situated individual was treated differently than the plaintiff, not whether one white motorist was subjected to the same unlawful treatment. Allowing defendants to escape liability for discriminating against Hispanics simply because they occasionally mistreat white motorists would dismantle our equal protection jurisprudence. The fact that Koutsakis was also stopped is simply irrelevant to the inquiry of whether Chavez has shown that a similarly situated individual was treated differently. 71 Quite to the contrary of defendants' and the district court's assertions, Chavez and Austin were similarly situated in all pertinent respects. Both were driving down the same stretch of I-80 at the same time, and neither committed a traffic violation (defendants have conceded that Chavez did not commit a violation for the purpose of summary judgment). The factors that distinguish Austin from Chavez do not prevent her from being similarly situated. First, the ISP can not legally decide whom to stop on the basis of gender any more than they can do so on the basis of race, thus the fact that Austin is female is not pertinent. Second, nothing in the record indicates that Trooper Thomas stopped Chavez because he was driving a red car, or because he was driving a rental car, or because it was a car with California plates. To the contrary, the ISP asserts that Valkyrie officers do not stop motorists on the basis of these variables, and plaintiffs have agreed. Third, the objects inside Chavez's vehicle that raised officer suspicion-- i.e. the small suitcase, fast food bags, and atlas--were not visible until after Chavez was pulled over, thus they could not have been the basis for the stop. Finally, the fact that Thomas was engaged with Chavez does not prevent Austin from being similarly situated. The whole point of the plaintiffs' claim is that after thirty minutes of trailing the two vehicles, Thomas stopped Chavez, who is Hispanic, rather than Austin, who is white. 72 We thus find that Austin is a similarly situated individual of an unprotected class who was treated differently than Chavez. That Lee has not been able to name a similarly situated individual treated differently does not, however, end our review of his claims. Plaintiffs attempt to show that similarly situated individuals were treated differently than both Chavez and Lee through the use of statistics. The district court would not allow plaintiffs to use statistics for this purpose, based upon that court's interpretation of United States v. Armstrong, 517 U.S. 456, a recent Supreme Court case addressing the effects prong of the equal protection test. We do not agree with the district court's interpretation of Armstrong or its application of Armstrong to the facts of this case. 73
74 The Supreme Court has long noted the importance of statistical analysis in cases in which the existence of discrimination is a disputed issue. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 339, 97 S. Ct. 1843, 52 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1977). 8 While few opinions directly acknowledge that statistics may be used to prove discriminatory effect, the Court has repeatedly relied on statistics to do just that. See, e.g., Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 374, 6 S. Ct. 1064, 30 L. Ed. 220 (1886) (finding that a San Francisco ordinance banning the operation of laundries in wooden buildings was discriminatorily applied to Chinese launderers where the city denied the petitions of some two hundred Chinese applicants who applied for exemption from the ordinance, but granted all but one of the eighty petitions of the non-Chinese launderers who applied); Hunter v. Underwood, 471 U.S. 222, 227, 105 S. Ct. 1916, 85 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1985) (finding that the fact that a section of the Alabama Constitution made disenfranchisement of blacks at least 1.7 times more likely than disenfranchisement of whites was indisputable evidence that the state law had a discriminatory effect on blacks as compared to similarly situated whites). 9 Of course, parties may not prove discrimination merely by providing the court with statistical analyses. The statistics proffered must address the crucial question of whether one class is being treated differently from another class that is otherwise similarly situated. See, e.g., Schweiker v. Wilson, 450 U.S. 221, 233, 101 S. Ct. 1074, 67 L. Ed. 2d 186 (1981) (noting that the plaintiffs did not offer any statistical support for a contention that the mentally ill as a class are burdened dis proportionately to any other class). Further, statistics are not irrefutable; they come in infinite variety and, like any other kind of evidence, they may be rebutted. In short, their usefulness depends on all of the surrounding facts and circumstances. Teamsters, 431 U.S. at 340. 75 The Supreme Court's decision in Armstrong did not depart from this precedent. Armstrong settled a dispute among the circuits by holding that criminal defendants bringing selective prosecution claims must show that similarly situated individuals were not prosecuted, in order to obtain discovery in support of their claim. Armstrong, 517 U.S. at 468-69. The decision reversed a Ninth Circuit opinion which held that a defendant did not have to demonstrate that the government had failed to prosecute others who were similarly situated; indeed, this was in contrast to the holdings of numerous other courts of appeals, including this one, that require[d] the defendant to produce some evidence that similarly situated defendants of other races could have been prosecuted, but were not. Id. at 469 (citing, inter alia, United States v. Mitchell, 778 F.2d 1271, 1277 (7th Cir. 1985)). The Supreme Court made clear that the similarly situated requirement could not be discarded, reaffirming that the requirement of showing discriminatory effect is a long established requirement in our jurisprudence. Id. at 455. The district court in this case correctly determined that the Supreme Court rejected the statistics proffered by the plaintiffs in Armstrong. See Chavez v. Ill. State Police, 27 F. Supp. 2d 1053, at 1066-67 (N.D. Ill. 1998). The statistics were rejected, however, not because plaintiffs can never use statistics to prove discriminatory effect, but because the particular statistics presented to the Court did not address the relevant issue. The criminal defendants in Armstrong introduced an affidavit claiming that in every one of the twenty-four cases handled by the public defender's office in 1991 for violations of 21 U.S.C. sec.sec. 841 and 846, the defendant was African-American. See Armstrong, 517 U.S. at 459. The Court explained: The study failed to identify individuals who were not black and could have been prosecuted for the offenses for which respondents were charged, but were not so prosecuted. Id. at 470. Presumably, then, if the study had demonstrated that whites were arrested and could have been prosecuted but were not, the Court would have found the study more useful. The Court pointed out that respondents could have investigated whether similarly situated persons of other races were prosecuted by the State of California and were known to federal law enforcement officers, but were not prosecuted in federal court. Id. In light of Armstrong, statistics demonstrating that whites stopped for traffic violations were not detained and searched, even those who displayed indicators of drug trafficking, while similarly situated African-American or Hispanics drivers were detained and searched, would be sufficient to show discriminatory effect. 76 The district court noted that at least three appellate court decisions have rejected statistical evidence that failed to identify similarly situated individuals of races other than that of the equal protection plaintiffs. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307, at 18 (N.D. Ill. July 10, 1997) (citing United States v. Turner, 104 F.3d 1180 (9th Cir. 1997); United States v. Berger, 103 F.3d 67 (9th Cir. 1996); United States v. Olvis, 97 F.3d 739 (4th Cir. 1996)). While the courts in these cases rejected the statistics presented, they did not reject, as a matter of law, the use of statistical evidence. In two of the cases the statistics were simply held to be insufficient, just like in Armstrong. See Turner, 104 F.3d at 1184- 85 (finding that the defendants-- who relied, in part, upon the same data found to be inadequate in Armstrong--had not shown that similarly-situated defendants of other races had been left unprosecuted); Olvis, 97 F.3d at 745 (finding that defendant's study provided no statistical evidence on the number of blacks who were actually committing crack cocaine offenses or whether a greater percentage of whites could have been prosecuted for such crimes). The defendant in the third case did not even attempt to provide credible evidence that similarly situated persons of other races could have been prosecuted but were not. Berger, 103 F.3d at 72. Additionally, it is worth noting that all three were criminal cases in which the defendants were seeking discovery in support of a selective prosecution claim. 77 Even if Armstrong is read to require a criminal defendant in a selective prosecution case to provide the precise name of a similarly situated defendant who was not prosecuted (a possible but unnecessary reading), the rationale behind such a requirement does not apply with equal force in the context of a civil racial profiling claim. While the district court determined that Chavez and Lee's allegations of racial profiling were analogous to selective prosecution claims, we find that numerous differences between the two types of claims make the former distinguishable. 78 First, the Armstrong court noted that [t]he similarly situated requirement does not make a selective-prosecution claim impossible to prove. Armstrong, 517 U.S. at 466. In a civil racial profiling case, however, the similarly situated requirement might be impossible to prove. In a meritorious selective prosecution claim, a criminal defendant would be able to name others arrested for the same offense who were not prosecuted by the arresting law enforcement agency; conversely, plaintiffs who allege that they were stopped due to racial profiling would not, barring some type of test operation, be able to provide the names of other similarly situated motorists who were not stopped. 79 A second distinction between this case and Armstrong is the factual context. The opinion in Armstrong allotted much of its analysis to discussing the nature of selective prosecution claims and the considerations inherent in such claims. The analysis is narrowly focused on the constitutional implications of interfering with the prosecutorial function, a factor at the heart of a criminal defendant's claim of selective prosecution, but not directly at issue in a plaintiff's civil claim of racial profiling. The Court described in detail the constraints imposed upon courts considering claims of selective prosecution: 80 A selective-prosecution claim asks a court to exercise judicial power over a special province of the Executive. The Attorney General and the United States Attorneys retain broad discretion to enforce the Nation's criminal laws. They have this latitude because they are designated by statute as the President's delegates to help him discharge his constitutional responsibility to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed. As a result, the presumption of regularity supports their prosecutorial decisions and, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, courts presume that they have properly discharged their official duties. In the ordinary case, so long as the prosecutor has probable cause to believe that the accused committed an offense defined by statute, the decision whether or not to prosecute, and what charge to file or bring before a grand jury, generally rests entirely in his discretion. 81 . . . . 82 In order to dispel the presumption that a prosecutor has not violated equal protection, a criminal defendant must present clear evidence to the contrary. . . . Judicial deference to the decisions of these executive officers rests in part on an assessment of the relative competence of prosecutors and courts. . . . It also stems from a concern not to unnecessarily impair the performance of a core executive constitutional function. 83 Armstrong, 517 U.S. at 464-65 (citations omitted). 84 In short, Armstrong emphasized both the discretion accorded to prosecutors and the fact that it would not be impossible to name a similarly situated individual treated differently in the context of a selective prosecution claim. We find that, although Armstrong is reasonably read to require criminal defendants to name an individual who was not prosecuted, the instant case involves police conduct, not prosecutorial discretion, and is in a civil, not criminal, context. This case is thus not like Armstrong. Therefore, plaintiffs do not have to provide the court with the name of an individual who was not stopped; instead they may attempt to use statistics to show that the ISP treated them differently than other motorists who were similarly situated. While it is true that statistics alone rarely state a violation of equal protection--indeed, only in the Title VII or jury venire context is this possible, as discussed infra--they can be sufficient to establish discriminatory effect. 85
86 Given our foregoing conclusions, we must now examine the statistics proffered by the plaintiffs. The pertinent inquiry is whether Operation Valkyrie troopers stop, detain, and search African-American and Hispanic motorists when the troopers do not stop, detain, and search similarly situated white motorists. Plaintiffs contend that this question must be answered in the affirmative. They allege that their statistics show that African- American and Hispanic motorists are stopped at a significantly higher rate than are white motorists, based upon the representation of these groups both in the Illinois population and on Illinois roads, thus evidencing a disproportionate impact upon African-American and Hispanic motorists. 87 There has been extensive debate, before the district court and this court, as to the relative merits of these statistics. Defendants contend that the population benchmarks used to determine the Hispanic and African-American populations in Illinois are inaccurate, that the ISP databases used to determine what percentages of these groups are stopped by ISP officers do not constitute a random sample of ISP stops, and that the plaintiffs' experts did not take into account appropriate confounding variables. The defendants also challenge the qualifications of plaintiffs' two experts. We will assume for the sake of argument that these experts are qualified because the district court did not address the issue. 88 The magistrate judge, in his report and recommendation, found that plaintiffs' evidence simply fails to prove what plaintiffs contend it does. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307 (N.D. Ill. July 10, 1997). He specifically cited the deficiency of the field reports, finding they were meaningless because they were not compiled for every stop and, therefore, did not comprise a random or regular sample of motorists stopped by the ISP. Id. The district judge did not examine the merits of the statistics because she determined that, regardless of their merit, they could not salvage the plaintiffs' claims as a matter of law. See Chavez, 27 F. Supp. 2d at 1065. Two years later, defendants moved to strike plaintiffs' experts' reports under the standard set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579, 592- 96, 113 S. Ct. 2786, 125 L. Ed. 2d. 469 (1993). The district court noted that it was unclear why the defendants are raising the Daubert issue for the first time now, Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307 (N.D. Ill. July 8, 1999), and denied the motion without prejudice. Chavez v. Ill. State Police, No. 94 CV 5307, 1999 WL 592187, at  (N.D. Ill. Aug. 2, 1999). On appeal, plaintiffs request that we remand to the district court for a thorough review of the statistics, if we determine that statistics could be used to show discriminatory effect. 89 Remand is not necessary. First, the magistrate judge did consider the statistics. Determining the validity and value of statistical evidence is firmly within the discretion of the district court, and we will reverse its findings only if they are clearly erroneous. EEOC v. O & G Spring and Wire Forms Specialty Co., 38 F.3d 872, 876 (7th Cir. 1994) (citing Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 287-90, 102 S. Ct. 1781, 72 L. Ed. 2d 66 (1982)). Second, though our reasons differ slightly from those of the magistrate judge, it is clear that these statistics can not satisfy the discriminatory effect element of the plaintiffs' prima facie case--they are simply insufficient as a matter of law. As we have noted, expert analysis must be both relevant and reliable, and the statistics here are neither. See Adams v. Ameritech Servs., Inc., 231 F.3d 414, 423 (7th Cir. 2000) (citing Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 152, 119 S. Ct. 1167, 143 L. Ed. 2d 238 (1999)). 90 We have already discussed the two pertinent ISP databases that contain records resulting from ISP stops: the citations and warnings database and the field reports database. The citation and warnings database records every citation or warning that is issued, including the name of the individual receiving the citation or warning and the basis for the action. The field reports, in contrast, are only completed in certain limited circumstances such as when contraband is found, when a custodial arrest is made, when canines are involved, or when there is damage to police equipment or injury to a trooper; though even then, they are not always completed. Of the 1.8 million incidents in which citations or warnings were issued in the eleven police districts with Valkyrie teams, 10 only 88,618 resulted in field reports. 11 Thus, for the relevant time period, less than five percent of incidents which gave rise to a citation or warning resulted in a field report. Plaintiffs focused primarily on a subset of the field reports--the Valkyrie field reports. These reports are generated when an ISP officer uses Valkyrie skills or obtains information of interest to the Valkyrie program. The officer is encouraged to fill out a field report and to mark it with a V. 91 The ISP does not keep a comprehensive record of all motorists stopped; there is no database that tracks every stop, the race of the parties involved, and whether a search took place. This is ultimately the type of information that would be useful in a suit such as this, as it would clearly indicate what percentages of African-American and Hispanic motorists were being stopped and searched on Illinois highways. Of course, under Armstrong, plaintiffs have to do more than simply proffer percentages of stops, but we can defer this issue for the moment. 92 The Valkyrie field reports are the source for the bulk of the plaintiffs' statistics, and were the basis of the equal protection claims they presented to the district court. Plaintiffs assert that the number of Valkyrie field reports issued to Hispanic and African-American motorists is more than two standard deviations over the expected norm, based upon the representation of each of these groups in the population. Such a finding, if based upon appropriate statistical analysis, would be statistically significant. See Adams v. Ameritech Services, Inc., 231 F.3d 414, 424 (7th Cir. 2000) (Two standard deviations is normally enough to show that it is extremely unlikely . . . that the disparity is due to chance . . . .); Mister v. Ill. Cent. Gulf R. Co., 832 F.2d 1427, 1431 (7th Cir. 1987) (noting the 'rule' that findings should be accepted as 'statistically significant' when the observations are more than two standard deviations away from the values that would result if there was no discrimination). 93 We are reluctant, however, to derive any conclusions about the racial breakdown of those motorists stopped, detained, and searched by Valkyrie officers based upon the Valkyrie field reports. First of all, plaintiffs have not told us how many Valkyrie field reports there are, or how many were analyzed. One record document indicates that there were 306 field reports completed by Valkyrie officers in 1992; plaintiffs then conducted a random sample of this data. There is no indication of the total number of stops this is being compared to, thus it is impossible to tell if this sample size is sufficiently large to be reliable. See Soria v. Ozinga Bros., Inc., 704 F.2d 990, 995 (7th Cir. 1992) (noting that [c]ourts in Title VII actions have almost uniformly rejected statistical conclusions based upon such small samples). Further, the field reports (and particularly the Valkyrie field reports) are completed on a selective basis after limited types of enforcement activity. This type of non-random sample might undermine the reliability of the statistics. See, e.g., United States v. Johnson, 185 F.3d 765, 769 (7th Cir. 1999) (explaining difficulties with non- random sampling); Bush v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 990 F.2d 928, 932 (7th Cir. 1993) (noting that the failure to examine a random sample of work records prevented the proffered statistics from demonstrating a pattern of racial discrimination). 94 While the citations and warnings database--which includes all citations and warnings issued by ISP officers-- could potentially provide a more accurate estimation of the numbers of motorists stopped, detained, and searched, this database does not record the race of the motorist. The numbers of Hispanics represented can be estimated through an analysis of Hispanic surnames, but there is no mechanism for calculating the numbers of whites or African-Americans issued citations or warnings. Without comparative racial information, plaintiffs can not prove that they were stopped, detained, or searched, when sim ilarly situated whites were not. 95 The limitations of the field reports and citations and warnings databases only scratch the surface of potential problems with the proffered statistics. The crux of the matter lies in the population benchmarks. As already noted, the plaintiffs compared the numbers derived from the Valkyrie field reports with the representation of whites, African- Americans, and Hispanics ostensibly in the Illinois population and on Illinois roads. We find that these population benchmarks can not provide an adequate backdrop for assessing the racial composition of drivers faced by Valkyrie officers, and thus can not indicate whether Valkyrie officers disproportionately stop, detain, and search Hispanics and African-Americans. 96 The first benchmark used by the plaintiffs was the 1990 Census. It is widely acknowledged that the Census fails to count everyone, and that the undercount is greatest in certain subgroups of the population, particularly Hispanics and African-Americans. See Dep't of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316, 322-23, 119 S. Ct. 765, 142 L. Ed. 2d 797 (1999); Tucker v. Dep't of Commerce, 958 F.2d 1411, 1412-13 (7th Cir. 1992); David H. Kaye & David A. Friedman, Reference Guide on Statistics, in Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence 83, 98 (Federal Judicial Center ed., 2d ed. 2000). We further note that the preliminary data from the 2000 Census indicates that the number of Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States has increased by 57.9% over the past ten years. See U.S. Census 2000 Population and Housing Tables, PHC-T-1, tbl. 4, at http://www.census.gov/population/www/ cen2000/tablist.html (last visited April 18, 2001). The data also indicates that in 2000, 12.3% of the Illinois population was Hispanic or Latino, as compared to 7.9% in 1990. See id. at PHC-T-6, tbl. 5. This recent data is simply another indication that the 1990 Census may not have accurately represented the Hispanic and African-American populations in Illinois for the relevant period. 97 Despite its flaws, the Census data may be the best population data available. It is utilized by the state of Illinois to conduct redistricting, see Ill. Const. art. IV, sec. 3(b), and is occasionally referenced by this court in order to determine the representation of varying ethnic and racial groups in the population. See, e.g., Bradley v. Work, 154 F.3d 704, 706 (7th Cir. 1998); United States v. Barry, 71 F.3d 1269, 1272 n.2 (7th Cir. 1995). Even if it were entirely accurate, however, Census data can tell us very little about the numbers of Hispanics and African-Americans driving on Illinois interstate highways, which is crucial to determining the population of motorists encountered by the Valkyrie officers. Other surveyors have noted as much, and have sought to measure the racial composition of the traveling public on the road. David A. Harris, The Stories, The Statistics, and The Law: Why Driving While Black Matters, 84 Minn. L. Rev. 265, 278 (1999) (discussing the study by Dr. John Lamberth of Temple University in which he constructed teams to count[ ] the cars on the road and tabulate[ ] whether the driver or another occupant appeared black). 98 Perhaps to address this problem, the plaintiffs also relied upon the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS). This is a nationwide telephone survey conducted every five years by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, aimed at providing a picture of passenger travel in the United States. Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, at http://www.bts.gov/ntda/npts (last visited April 18, 2001). Plaintiffs utilized the NPTS to ascertain the percentage of personal vehicle trips taken by African-American and Hispanic drivers, as well as the number of personal vehicle miles driven by these groups. The data, however, was not intended to be used in this manner. The survey itself noted that the samples were designed to produce regional and national-level estimates. Thus, estimates for individual local areas . . . or States may not be based on large enough sample sizes and may be imprecise. User's Guide for the Public Use Tapes: 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, II-4. The small sample sizes were noted within the survey material: only 868 households in Illinois participated, encompassing 1120 whites, 118 blacks, and 51 Hispanics. Due to the small numbers of African-Americans and Hispanics surveyed, the NPTS data would suggest that there are even fewer African-Americans and Hispanics in Illinois than is indicated by the Census. Clearly, the NPTS was not intended to provide and can not accurately provide racial breakdowns for the population of motorists on Illinois roads. Further, while the survey is particularly well suited for measuring repetitive, local travel, Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, at http://www.bts.gov/ntda/npts (last visited April 18, 2001), it is less relevant to determining who is traveling on the interstate highways. Neither can it indicate the number of non-Illinois residents traveling on the interstate highways. 99 The defendants' expert claimed that the insurmountable problem with the statewide tests is with the overall population benchmark. Donahue Report at 14. We agree. These population baselines are simply insufficient to determine the racial makeup of motorists on Illinois highways. Thus, without reliable data on whom Valkyrie officers stop, detain, and search, and without reliable data indicating the population on the highways where motorists are stopped, detained, and searched, we can not find that the statistics prove that the Valkyrie officers' actions had a discriminatory effect on the plaintiffs.
100 We have found that Chavez has proven that defendants' actions had a discriminatory effect on him but that Lee, who relied solely on the plaintiffs' statistics, has not. Even if we had determined that Lee proved effect, however, both plaintiffs must still prove discriminatory intent in order to establish a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. See Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 242, 96 S. Ct. 2040, 48 L. Ed. 2d 597 (1976); Greer v. Amesqua, 212 F.3d 358, 370 (7th Cir. 2000), cert denied, 121 S. Ct. 568, 148 L. Ed. 2d 487 (2000); Johnson v. City of Fort Wayne, Ind., 91 F.3d 922, 945 (7th Cir. 1996). Plaintiffs must show that the decisionmakers in [their] case acted with discriminatory purpose. McClesky v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 292, 107 S. Ct. 1756, 95 L. Ed. 2d 262 (1987); Nabozny v. Podlesny, 92 F.3d 446, 453 (7th Cir. 1996). ''Discriminatory purpose' . . . implies more than . . . intent as awareness of consequences. It implies that the decisionmaker . . . selected or reaffirmed a particular course of action at least in part 'because of' . . . its adverse effects upon an identifiable group.' McClesky, 481 U.S. at 298 (quoting Pers. Adm'r of Mass. v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256, 279, 99 S. Ct. 2282, 60 L. Ed. 2d 870 (1979)); Hearne v. Bd. of Educ. of City of Chi., 185 F.3d 770, 776 (7th Cir. 1999) (same). 101 Plaintiffs offer little evidence specific to their case that would support an inference that racial considerations played a part in their stops, detentions, and searches. Instead they argue that their statistics compel an inference of purposeful discrimination. We will consider the non-statistical evidence first, construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. 102 Plaintiffs present evidence relating both to the named plaintiffs' stops and to the ISP in general. During the stop and search of Gregory Lee, it is asserted that Trooper Fraher justified the stop by saying that one can never tell with you people. Trooper Cessna, a participant in the search involving Peso Chavez, said in his deposition that he was trained that a motorist's race is one indicator that you've got to keep in mind. The remainder of the evidence relates to the operations and practices of the ISP: 1) The ISP will not open a case when a citizen who received a citation complains that he did not commit any offense, but was instead stopped on the basis of race; 2) The ISP's Office of Inspection and Audits does not investigate the issue of race as it affects trooper enforcement activity; 3) Selected ISP drug interdiction training materials emphasize the alleged predominance of Hispanics among those highway travelers carrying illegal drugs; 4) Through affidavit testimony one trooper said that ISP officers are not prohibited from considering race as a factor, and another stated that race can be a permissible factor to consider in deciding what motorists to stop (for example, in the context of an all-points bulletin or in deciding to conduct a Terry stop); and 5) From 1990 to 1994 Snyders reviewed monthly statistics showing that African- American and Hispanic motorists comprised more than sixty percent of motorists searched by Valkyrie officers in District Six. 103 In order to carry their burden, Chavez and Lee must prove that they were stopped, detained, and searched because the defendant officers involved in their stops were motivated by a discriminatory intent. Chavez points to one piece of indirect evidence that his stop was racially motivated: Trooper Cessna, one of the officers who searched Chavez, testified that sometimes race is an indicator to keep in mind. Other evidence weighs against drawing a conclusion of discriminatory intent. As part of his investigation in the Koutsakis case, Chavez submitted a written memo to Nancy Hollander detailing the February 18, 1993 stop and search; he stated that none of the troopers said anything which appeared to be racially motivated. Further, Trooper Thomas listed Chavez's race as white on the field report regarding Chavez's stop and search, even though there was a listing for Hispanic. There is nothing in the record to indicate that Thomas thought Chavez was Hispanic and simply decided to list his race as white in an attempt to disguise his motivations. 104 Lee offers specific evidence of racial animus during his stop: the statements made by Trooper Fraher that one can never tell with you people. While we certainly do not approve of racially insensitive remarks, such comments do not by themselves violate the Constitution. See Sherwin Manor Nursing Ctr. v. McAuliffe, 37 F.3d 1216, 1221 (7th Cir. 1995); Bell v. City of Milwaukee, 746 F.2d 1205, 1259 (7th Cir. 1984). This does not mean, however, that the use of racially derogatory language is without legal significance. Such language is strong evidence of racial animus, an essential element of any equal protection claim. DeWalt v. Carter, 224 F.3d 607, 612 n.3 (7th Cir. 2000); Bell, 746 F.2d at 1259. Lee has not proffered any evidence of racial animus on the part of the other officers who allegedly stopped and searched him. The other officers who stated that race might be a factor to consider had nothing to do with the stops of Lee or Chavez. 105 The allegations relating to the practices and procedures of the ISP do not demonstrate discriminatory intent in the stopping of the named plaintiffs because plaintiffs have not shown that the ISP required or encouraged Valkyrie officers to racially profile. There is actually evidence to the contrary. The first page of the Operation Valkyrie Officer's Guide to Drug Interdiction Techniques states: 106 The success of the Valkyrie program is directly linked to its eschewment from the use of any form of violator profiles. The Illinois State Police has never endorsed, condoned or promoted the use of any profiling system in its interdiction program. Criminal elements exist in virtually every racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic and cultural group. An officer whose enforcement stops are based on ethnicity is guilty of civil rights violations and is subject to prosecution in the federal courts. Criminality transcends any perceived racial, ethnic or socio-economic parameters; to focus on a single segment of society is to limit your enforcement opportunities. 107 Operation Valkyrie: An Officer's Guide to Drug Interdiction Techniques at i. Even a stringent review of the tapes of Officer Snyders' training sessions shows that, during the sessions, Snyders discourages the use of race as an indicator as counterproductive. One of plaintiffs' experts-- James Fyfe, professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Temple University--stated that, based on the material he had reviewed, the ISP was doing a terrific job of apprehending drug offenders in a way that acknowledges people's constitutional rights. Plaintiffs' Amended Response to Defendants' Ninth Request for Admission of Facts para. 8. 108 Just because the official policy is to decry racial profiling, however, does not automatically mean that defendants are free from reproach: 109 We are satisfied that the State Police does not embrace an official policy to engage in racial profiling or any other form of intentional disparate treatment of minority motorists. To the contrary, the officially-stated policy has always been to condemn reliance upon constitutionally-impermissible factors. The message in these official policies, however, was not always clear and may have been undermined by other messages in both official and unofficial policies. What really matters, ultimately, is how official policies are interpreted and translated into actual practices in the barracks across the state and out on the road. 110 State v. Ballard, 752 A.2d 735, 744 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2000). In this case, though, we do not think that the one ISP document referencing the high number of Hispanics involved in the drug trade visibly undermined the message that racial profiling was illegal and to be avoided. 111 Plaintiffs' non-statistical evidence does not prove that the defendants intended to discriminate against Chavez when they stopped and searched him. Nor is there sufficient evidence to conclude that the three different troopers who stopped Lee did so with intent to discriminate. We thus turn to plaintiffs' statistical evidence. 112 Only in rare cases [has] a statistical pattern of discriminatory impact demonstrated a constitutional violation, McClesky v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 293 n.12, 107 S. Ct. 1756, 95 L. Ed. 2d 262 (1987) (citing Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339, 81 S. Ct. 125, 5 L. Ed. 2d 110 (1960); Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 6 S. Ct. 1064, 30 L. Ed. 220 (1886)), though the Court has accepted statistics as proof of intent to discriminate in certain limited contexts. Id. at 293. Specifically, [t]he Court has accepted statistical disparities as proof of an equal protection violation in the selection of a jury venire in a particular district and has accepted statistics in the form of multiple- regressions analysis to prove statutory violations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Id. at 293-94; see, e.g., Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 431 U.S. 324, 97 S. Ct. 1843, 52 L. Ed. 2d 396 (1977); EEOC v. O & G spring & Wire Forms Specialty Co., 38 F.3d 872, 876 (7th Cir. 1994). It is possible that the Supreme Court would also accept statistics as sole proof of intent in the context of challenges to legislative redistricting. See Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541, 548- 49, 119 S. Ct. 1545, 143 L. Ed. 2d 731 (1999) (finding that circumstantial evidence, including statistical evidence, tend[ed] to support an inference that the state drew its distinct lines with an impermissible racial motive--even though [plaintiffs] presented no direct evidence of intent); Smith v. Boyle, 144 F.3d 1060, 1067-68 (7th Cir. 1998) (Flaum, J. concurring in part and dissenting in part) (noting that Supreme Court cases addressing legislative redistricting indicate that discriminatory effect might suffice to establish intent); see also Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339, 81 S. Ct. 125, 5 L. Ed. 2d 110 (1960) (finding that the Alabama legislature violated the Fifteenth Amendment by altering the city boundaries in a way that excluded 395 of 400 black voters without excluding a single white voter). None of these situations, however, are before us. Instead, plaintiffs ask us to rely on their statistics, which allegedly show discriminatory effect, to conclude that the ISP and the individual officer- defendants are intentionally discriminating against the plaintiffs. In this context, statistics may not be the sole proof of a constitutional violation and neither Chavez nor Lee have presented sufficient non-statistical evidence to demonstrate discriminatory intent. 113 The plaintiffs have thus not met their burden of showing that the ISP or its individual officers purposefully discriminated against them. Because plaintiffs have not proven the prima facie elements of an equal protection claim under the Fourteenth Amendment, we will affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants.