Acting White: Supreme Court New Haven Firefighting Decision

Yes, the Supreme Court got it right with respect to the New Haven firefighters. But let us be clear – Sotomayor, who fancies her own seat up yonder, did not do her judicial job when she upheld, minus an explanation or her signature, the City’s position on appeal. For all her tough up-from-the-Bronx reputation, she caved and made the old white guys make the final call. She may counter, quietly, that she almost executed a shrewd political move, but she got called out by her mentor, appellate judge Jose Cabranes. I guess that is what good mentors do, bust your ass when you slack, right out there in public for everyone, who cares, to see. She'll be OK.

The logic of the dissenting justices in the case shows us just how far we have to go, when they put forth the results of the test as evidence for the City, as defendant, even though reviews found no testing bias. Justice Ginsburg said the court should have assessed "the starkly disparate results" of the exams against the backdrop of historical and ongoing inequality in the New Haven fire department. So the question remains for America, just how long should blacks be given points simply for their skin color? If Rev. King were here today, I seriously doubt he could square Ginsberg’s attitude with his hope that we be judged, over 40 years later, on the content of our character alone.

See related post (here).

James C. Collier

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