In McDonnell Douglas Corporation v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973), the court ruled that to establish a prima facie case of discrimination a plaintiff must show "(i) that he belongs to a racial minority; (ii) that he applied and was qualified for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants; (iii) that, despite his qualifications, he was rejected; and (iv) that, after his rejection, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek applicants from persons of complainant's qualifications." The Supreme Court later explained "the basic allocation of burdens and order of presentation of proof in a Title VII case alleging discriminatory treatment (is): First, the plaintiff has the burden of proving by the preponderance of evidence a prima facie case of discrimination. Second, if the plaintiff succeeds in proving the prima facie case, the burden shifts to the defendant 'to articulate some legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the employer's rejection.' Third, should the defendant carry this burden, the plaintiff must then have an opportunity to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the legitimate reasons proffered by the defendant were not its true reasons, but were a pretext for discrimination"