Developing: US Supreme Court Reverses Sotomayor in Ricci

The US Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit's ruling on Ricci v. DeStefano, finding in a 5-4 decision, that the City of New Haven violated the rights of white firefighters who were denied promotions after the City threw out test scores.

The majority opinion was written by Justice Kennedy. Justice Ginsberg wrote the minority opinion, joined by Souter, Breyer, and Stevens.

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.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the white firefighters "understandably attract this court's sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them."

The full opinion is here.

UPDATE:
Interestingly, none of the justices on the Court, including the dissent, thought that Sotomayor acted properly in Ricci.

UPDATE:
Not a single justice agreed with Sotomayor's opinion. You can bet that Republicans will question her on the subject at the confirmation hearing. That's an eyeraiser, and definitely something that deserves more scrutiny.