Robert J. COOPER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ivan ALLEN, Jr., Mayor of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, Et Al., Defendants-Appellees

RIVES, Circuit Judge:

In 1966 appellant Cooper, a Negro, applied for a position as one of Atlanta’s municipal golf pros. At that time no form of intelligence testing was employed by the City. Cooper was not hired. Sometime thereafter the City began to require a certain score on the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test, Form J, as a prerequisite to employment as a golf pro. In addition an applicant had to satisfy other requisites. In 1969 a golf pro slot opened. Cooper applied. He was compelled to take the Otis test which he failed. As a consequence his application was denied.1

Cooper filed a class…