Like several other cases in this series, Price v. Sacramento County Civil Service Commission considers race-based hiring quotas. This case, from 1978, concerns Rule 710, which the Civil Service Commission of Sacramento County adopted in order to remedy "whenever necessary" an imbalance in county agencies. Following hearings, it was found that certain racial categories were underrrepresented among attorneys in the Sacramento County District Attorney's office. This was allegedly the result of "unintentionally discriminatory practices, including 'unvalidated' oral examinations and insufficient recruitment efforts." The office was urged to make appointments to the entry level classification on an alternating 2:1 ratio until the percentage of nonwhite appointees reached 8 percent. The lawsuit was filed by John M. Price, the Sacramento County DA, who sought to have the quota repealed.

In their conclusion, the court again makes the argument made elsewhere in these case files that quota systems are themselves discriminatory. In their argument, they make the notable observation that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which originated in the House of Representatives, initially faced opposition because of "the fear that it would impose on unions and employers a federally administered racial quota system." Of Title VII, they argue that "Contrary to the seeming letter of section 703(a)(2), it classifies individuals in a way depriving Caucasian males of eligibility..." They also write: "The action of the Sacramento County Civil Service Commission oversteps that objective and establishes a barrier to the employment of majority applicants which violates that objective." The quota system was overturned.