Case Explained: 26a0217p.06

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-05 The sixth-circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment and dismissal of claims brought by Dr. Mark Charlton-Perkins against the University of Cincinnati and its administrators regarding a cancelled job search. The court held that relief was denied because Charlton-Perkins’s Title IX claim failed as he was not a “person in the United States” within the meaning of 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a) at the time the discriminatory decision to cancel the search was made, given that he resided in the United Kingdom. Applying plain-language statutory interpretation and clear-statement rules for Spending Clause legislation, the court concluded that “in the United States” requires physical presence within U.S. territory, distinguishing citizenship from geographic location. Regarding the equal-protection claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the court affirmed dismissal on two grounds. First, sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment barred official-capacity claims because the requested remedy of “instatement” (creating and funding a new position) would impose a direct financial burden on the state treasury, unlike reinstatement to an existing position, and lacked historical precedent in Founding-era equity. Second, qualified immunity barred individual-capacity claims against the administrators because Charlton-Perkins failed to demonstrate that his right was “clearly established” at the time of the alleged misconduct; the court found no precedent placing the unconstitutionality of cancelling a job search due to gender concerns beyond debate, noting that a reasonable administrator could have believed such action was legal given the conflicting interests and lack of on-point authority. The practical consequence is that the judgment in favor of the defendants stands, the University of Cincinnati faces no liability under Title IX or equal-protection claims for this hiring cancellation, and Charlton-Perkins receives no injunctive relief or damages. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.