High court rules in favor of white firefighters
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.
New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.
The ruling could alter employment practices nationwide, potentially limiting the circumstances in which employers can be held liable for decisions when there is no evidence of intentional discrimination against minorities.
“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his opinion for the court. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with the ruling. It’s an important and probably needed tweaking of an evolving area of law.
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135 comments Add your comment
RW-(the original)
June 29th, 2009
11:10 am
Nothing like getting your race based decision reversed right before your hearings where you need to defend your own concept that you’ll make better decisions about race, and everything else for that matter, because of your race.
ByteMe
June 29th, 2009
11:13 am
Damned activist judges ignoring the law as it was written….
TnGelding
June 29th, 2009
11:13 am
Another 5-4 with Kennedy the swing vote. Are we a nation of laws or a lawless nation? Black eye for Sotomayor.
Mrs. Godzilla
June 29th, 2009
11:14 am
Judicial Activism is most certainly in the eye of the beholder!
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
June 29th, 2009
11:15 am
A racist ruling struck down by a common sense and law abiding court.
I’m sure Obozo will get right to work fixing this problem.
booger
June 29th, 2009
11:18 am
I’ll pass the word upstairs that Jay is OK with this decision.
@@
June 29th, 2009
11:23 am
O.K., we got that one out of the way. NOW! on her opinion of 2nd Amendment rights — that Latina’s wisdom is taking a turn towards squishy politics.
Paul:
Friedman wrote an article back in 2007 about geopolitics and the “Spoiling Attack”.
I knew it…I JUST KNEW IT!!!!!
You is a “Nadering” naybob. (ISH)
BTW, I don’t favor cutting one government bureaucracy’s largesse only to fund another’s. The opportunity for government abuse is too great.
Healthcare? Puh-leeze…
Jake
June 29th, 2009
11:28 am
The SC made a good decision, although just barely. Other than that, nothing happened. Put the self-avowed racist Sotomayor in for Souter and it’s still 5-4 for the firefighters.
ByteMe
June 29th, 2009
11:33 am
Booger’s dying?
Lord Help Us
June 29th, 2009
11:33 am
I wish we had a supreme court full of Kennedy’s…
God bless him. Instead of 8 predictably ideological votes and 1 tiebreaker, wouldn’t it be great to have 9 ‘tiebreakers.’
The substance of the debates and the intellectual underpinnings of the supremes rulings would substantiate our country’s foundation.
Our legislative and executive branches would respond accordingly.
I wonder, how many posters here TRULY wish for judicial independence…
Rightwing Troll
June 29th, 2009
11:34 am
I for one take great umbrage to the idea that law “evolves”. Evolution is a golden calf of the educated leftists, law is enacted by intelligent design, Law is designed by us godly, intelligent, conservatives, then written and then it is so for eternity and not to be defined, interpreted, or misconstrued by some godless, socialist, activist liberal judge.
RW-(the original)
June 29th, 2009
11:34 am
Madoff sentenced to 150 years. CNN thinks he probably won’t live out the term.
George American
June 29th, 2009
11:35 am
Once again, the conservative saviors behaving with common sense and righting the many wrongs of the horrible affirmative action travesties in the past.
Peadawg
June 29th, 2009
11:37 am
When are we going to have a blog about Obama raising the taxes on people making less than $250,000/yr to fund this new health care system? When are we going to have a blog about how many promises he’s broken?
Paul
June 29th, 2009
11:46 am
Hello @@
Nice article. I tended towards the third options, pretty much.
[[Let’s begin with something that is obviously true. When we consider Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Iran and even Iraq, it is clear that the United States devoted only a tiny fraction of the military power it could have brought to bear if it wished.]]
My point. We spend gazillions, bring to bear only a fraction and the conventional Army is broken. Wonderful.
I will disagree a bit with the end of the analysis. Seemed to me a bit of backward-looking justification. “Hey, the Shia and Sunnis are fighting and getting weaker, so our stirring things up was a good thing and right in line with our plans..”
Nope.
Pentagon’s still bureaucracy and top heavy, with far too many dollars devoted to doing nice things for themselves.
I never woulda guessed you’re a Spiro Agnew fan!
And I pretty much favor cutting lots of gov’t programs and NOT transferring the money elswhere.
RW-(the original) 11:34
Justice!
You do realize you and AmVet and getalife are gonna have a drink together over this sentence, don’t you?
Doggone/GA
June 29th, 2009
11:47 am
“When are we going to have a blog about Obama raising the taxes on people making less than $250,000/yr to fund this new health care system?”
Maybe when a decision is actually MADE?
pat
June 29th, 2009
11:52 am
Good. I am sure that Sotomyer would argue that her race prompted her to make the correct decsion and the high court is wrong. After all, a hispanic woman is endowed by her Creator with better and wiser judicial prowess.
Normal
June 29th, 2009
11:53 am
How can you call her racist, she ruled against two hispanics, didn’t she?
Brad Steel
June 29th, 2009
11:55 am
pat,
you should be more candid with your stance by referencing Sotomayor as a “beaner.”
thomas
June 29th, 2009
11:56 am
So your feeling on the matter have changed bookman?
Because when the first debate of this topic came up, you defended Sotomayor and her decision in this case, claiming it was not discrimination.
Why the sudden change of heart without any reason as to why?
Thats right you are the liberal Rush, you don’t have to have actual reasons why you believe what you do. You just need to make sure that it goes in favor of democrats and that your views are oppossed to anything republican.
What a joke that you and others here actually take you seriously. At one time you were good, even great, but you have been moved to allow yourself to be a tool for the democrat party and may I say what a tool you have become.
Does your integrity even matter to you anymore?
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
June 29th, 2009
12:01 pm
Cheney fears Iraq withdrawal will ‘waste’ U.S. sacrifices…
I disagree.
It is time for the Iraqi Security Forces to stand on their own.
With massive US firepower close by.
Give the Iraq people their country.
DB, Gwinnettian
June 29th, 2009
12:06 pm
CNN thinks he probably won’t live out the term.
RW watches the TeeVee so we don’t have to.
RW-(the original)
June 29th, 2009
12:10 pm
RW watches the TeeVee so we don’t have to
Do you have a point, DB?
Normal
June 29th, 2009
12:12 pm
I Report
You Whine 
June 29th, 2009
12:01 pm
Cheney fears Iraq withdrawal will ‘waste’ U.S. sacrifices…
I disagree.
It is time for the Iraqi Security Forces to stand on their own.
With massive US firepower close by.
Give the Iraq people their country.
———————
Dammit WHINER, now you’ve done it! You made me agree with you…you must be closer to the left than you let on…Just kiddin’…
Normal
June 29th, 2009
12:15 pm
Brad Steel
June 29th, 2009
11:55 am
pat,
you should be more candid with your stance by referencing Sotomayor as a “beaner.”
——————
I can see it now…Clarence and the Bean…
booger
June 29th, 2009
12:17 pm
Peadawg,
Don’t hold your breath on an Obama topic. This only happens when Obama does something clearly right, or if the topic is non controversial. Neither of these happen that often.
We have, however had three Palin and four Stanford topics during the last week, along with a riveting blog on Southern Baptist, and a few on Bush/Cheney.
You need to get used to this fare. When the Dems. are in power we’ll talk about Repubs., until the Repubs. get back into power, then we can talk about Repubs.
DB, Gwinnettian
June 29th, 2009
12:21 pm
Do you have a point, DB?
Sure. You watch the TeeVee and tell us what it says. this is a valuable public service.
As for the topic at hand–what? the SCOTUS ruling 5-4 in favor of talk radio? knock me over with a feather.
david wayne osedach
June 29th, 2009
12:23 pm
It is about time for this ruling. We have elected our first black President who is hugely popular. No more discrimination – reverse discrimination!
Eddy
June 29th, 2009
12:35 pm
‘Splain to me how a test to become a lieutenant, captain or any other promotion within the firefighter ranks can be racially biased!!! A fire is a fire; water is water; hoses are hoses; protocol to be followed in fighting the fire is the same for all, etc. If any person is so dumb as to not be able to pass the test, it’s probably best that they not be promoted! Qualifications are not the issue….quotas are and the SC said NO to those who sought throw out the results of the test and just promote those ’cause, ’cause it just feels good and the numbers must be improved at the expense of qualifications.
TnGelding
June 29th, 2009
12:39 pm
I Report
You Whine 
June 29th, 2009
12:01 pm
Nice!
Turd Ferguson
June 29th, 2009
12:45 pm
Its about time some common sense prevailed.
@@
June 29th, 2009
12:48 pm
Paul:
Third options? …as did I.
The heated rhetoric surrounding the Iraq conflict stems from the traditional American inability to hold things in perspective.
Which is why I enjoy Stratfor. They tune out the noise and get down to the business at hand.
This is the part you disagree with?
But there is an underlying order to U.S. foreign policy that makes the apparent chaos of policymaking understandable and rational.
Given the fact that the strategic interests of other nations can turn on a dime, depending on “surrounding nation’s” strategic interests, I’ll go with keeping the chessboard on tilt.
Who the heck is Spiro Agnew? Sounds botanical.
ByteMe
June 29th, 2009
12:49 pm
Whiner @ 12:01, is this an Invasion of the Body Snatchers moment?
getalife
June 29th, 2009
12:50 pm
Affirmative action for white folks.
Redneck Convert
June 29th, 2009
12:54 pm
Well, I see this Madoff got 150 years. My buddy Jim Earl about pegged it. One day you’re playing golf at the ritziest country club in the country, with more money than 10,000 people could make together in a lifetime, and the next day you’re headed for the hoosegow to do two lifetimes. That’s life for you. If Madoff was smart he would of done the crimes against poor people. You can kill a poor person and get maybe 7 years. But if you take anything from rich people with money to invest you’re down for the count and looking at 150 years. Heck, a ax murderer of 15 people wouldn’t of got 150 years.
Anyhow, I told you all this equal rights junk was going to cause all kind of trouble. Now they’re saying it ain’t right to keep from promoting white people when Those People ain’t promoted too. Next thing we’ll be reading about is a big lawsuit by Those People saying that the city run afoul of the equal rights laws. It will go on and on for years till it gets to the Supreme Court, and who knows what that court will look like 8 or 9 years from now? Probly 5 or 6 of Those People and 4 or 5 cookie-bakers. Then this SC ruling today will get overturned and we’ll be back where it all started. I reckon the law is whatever the Supreme Court at the time says it is. Seems to me we ought to be electing the Supreme Court.
That’s my opinion and it’s very true. Have a good p.m. everybody.
clyde
June 29th, 2009
12:55 pm
A good decision from the Supreme court,except for the four votes to uphold Sotomayer.This should have been a no-brainer,but as usual it wasn’t.Half of the sitting judges are not there to interpret the law.I guess you have to use your empathy to decide which half.
I Report :-) You Whine :-(
June 29th, 2009
12:57 pm
A couple of things, this is Bush’s Status of Forces Agreement withdrawal date, I have no idea why Cheney would object to it now instead of when it was negotiated. It’s almost as though his whining is politically motivated.
The Iraqi government cannot rely on us to fight the terrorists forever, and the quicker they learn to do it on their own, the sooner they will become proficient at it. And there will be no better beacon of democracy in the Middle East than having the freely elected leaders of Iraq slaughtering Islamic lunatics in service of protecting their citizens.
So let’s get on with it.
Normal
June 29th, 2009
12:59 pm
CLYDE: I guess you have to use your empathy to decide which half.
———————
That’s what empathy is for…
ByteMe
June 29th, 2009
12:59 pm
Confusing day at SCOTUS. They also overturned Missouri’s attempt to keep crazy disruptive people from a Kansas church 300 feet away from dead servicemen’s funerals.
Shawny
June 29th, 2009
1:00 pm
12:50, no, this is a decision not to make a preference based on skin color, which is wrong. The SC decision was correct, despite the effort of 4 of the 9. It makes me wonder about those 4. Preference based on skin color was wrong way back in the day and is wrong now. End it, no matter if the color is white.
ByteMe
June 29th, 2009
1:01 pm
And there will be no better beacon of democracy in the Middle East than having the freely elected leaders of Iraq slaughtering Islamic lunatics in service of protecting their citizens.
Or:
And there will be no better beacon of the status quo in the Middle East than having the freely elected leaders of Iraq slaughtering their citizens in service of protecting Islamic lunatics.
The outcome is uncertain even now.
Normal
June 29th, 2009
1:01 pm
AWRIGHT ALIEN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH WHINER?!!…
getalife
June 29th, 2009
1:04 pm
The SC will still be 5-4 with RW activists still winning.
getalife
June 29th, 2009
1:09 pm
Iraq declared victory and they will celebrate their Independence day from another occupation.
Another tragic mistake that Congress will apologize in a hundred years like slavery and Jim Crow.
Watch for the Great Britain’s public inquiry to see the proof of this mistake.
Our government will cover it up as usual.
Bosch
June 29th, 2009
1:10 pm
Anthony Kennedy is one of the most powerful men in our country right now.
jconservative
June 29th, 2009
1:16 pm
Guys, Sotomayor made the correct decision from her seat on the Appeals Court. We do not want Appeals Court judges making “policy” – legislating from the bench in other words. If we must legislate from the bench, lets let the Supreme Court do it – there is only one of them to keep honest. And, if you guys will stop voting for incumbents we may one day get some people in the legislature who will tackle the touchy issues.
clyde
June 29th, 2009
1:16 pm
Normal,
As a judge I might empathize with a woman who murders an abusive mate,but I don’t let her off.
Wyld Byll Hyltnyr
June 29th, 2009
1:19 pm
Now, if only we could remove affirmative action and our callow, inexperienced president for the White House, now wouldn’t that be “loverly.”
Palin/Jindahl in 2012 – change that makes sense replaces change that is nonsense.
Normal
June 29th, 2009
1:22 pm
Clyde, I think I’d call it self defense…
Paul
June 29th, 2009
1:23 pm
@@
The part I disagreed with had to do with the backward looking “well, this good thing happened, so maybe what we did (even though we didn’t see it coming) was pretty good after all.
You know I like Stratfor. I hear plenty cast stones, but I’ve yet to hear anyone take take issue with an analysis.
Agnew? Nixon’s VP. Disgraced, resigned, like alliteration. “Nattering nabobs of negativism.”
He’s also the one who coined the phrase “the silent majority.”
I had a bumper sticker: “The Majority is Not Silent. The Government is Deaf.”
Report/Whine gets one pat on the back. The usual suspects are silent.
That’s telling -