Cite as: 532 U. S. 275 (2001)
Stevens, J., dissenting
specific to § 1983, each of these opinions looked instead to our opinion in Cannon, to the intent of the Congress that adopted Title VI and the contemporaneous executive decisionmakers who crafted the disparate-impact regulations, and to general principles of remediation.7
In summary, there is clear precedent of this Court for the proposition that the plaintiffs in this case can seek injunctive relief either through an implied right of action or through § 1983. Though the holding in Guardians does not compel the conclusion that a private right of action exists to enforce the Title VI regulations against private parties, the rationales of the relevant opinions strongly imply that result. When that fact is coupled with our holding in Cannon and our unanimous decision in Lau, the answer to the question presented in this case is overdetermined.8 Even absent my
Powell. I noted that the fact that § 1983 authorizes a lawsuit against the police department based on its violation of the governing administrative regulations did not mean, as Justice Powell had suggested, "that a similar action would be unavailable against a similarly situated private party." Ibid. I added the sentence that the Court quotes today, ante, at 283, not to reserve a question, but rather to explain that the record did not support Justice Powell's hypothesis regarding the standard of proof. I thought then, as I do now, that a violation of regulations adopted pursuant to Title VI may be established by proof of discriminatory impact in a § 1983 action against state actors and also in an implied action against private parties. See n. 5, supra. Contrary to the Court's partial quotation of my opinion, see ante, at 283-284, n. 3, what I wrote amply reflected what I thought. See 463 U. S., at 635 ("a private action against recipients of federal funds"); id., at 636 ("implied caus[e] of action"); id., at 638 ("Title VI authorizes appropriate relief").
Justice Powell was quite correct in noting that it would be anomalous to assume that Congress would have intended to make it easier to recover from public officials than from private parties. That anomaly, however, does not seem to trouble the majority today.
7 See n. 5, supra.
8 See also Bazemore v. Friday, 478 U. S. 385 (1986) (per curiam) (adjudicating on the merits a claim brought under Title VI regulations).
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