# City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. *United States Supreme Court decision (1989) on race-based set-asides in state and local contracting* *City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.*, 488 U.S. 469 (1989), is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. It held that strict scrutiny applies to race-based set-asides adopted by state and local governments.[^1] The project's catalogue of federal legal theories cites the decision under two headings. The first is the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection theory. The second is the theory under 42 U.S.C. §1981, the equal right to contract regardless of race.[^1][^2] Under both headings the decision stands for the same proposition: state and local race-based set-asides are subject to strict scrutiny.[^1][^2] The sources assembled for this article do not establish the facts of the case, its procedural history, the vote, the author of the opinion, or any Minnesota instrument to which the rule has been applied.[^1] ## What The decision sets the standard of review for race-based set-aside programs of state and local governments. The catalogue records the holding as "strict scrutiny applies to state and local race-based set-asides".[^1] It records the same rule as "state and local race-based set-asides subject to strict scrutiny".[^2] ## When The Court decided the case in 1989. It is reported at volume 488 of the *United States Reports*, beginning at page 469.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Supreme Court of the United States, *City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.*, 488 U.S. 469 (1989) — establishes that strict scrutiny applies to state and local race-based set-asides (cited under the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection theory). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/488/469/ [^2]: Supreme Court of the United States, *City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.*, 488 U.S. 469 (1989) — establishes that state and local race-based set-asides are subject to strict scrutiny (cited under the 42 U.S.C. §1981 theory). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/488/469/