Advertisement The court ruled that the city of New Haven, Conn., violated firefighters’ rights in a promotional exam.
Those familiar with the case know it has implications on a number of different levels.
First of all, the 5-4 decision clarified the federal job-discrimination laws for employers. It said that the primary goal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is to remove race as a factor. This is for both public and private employers handling hiring and promotions.
The ruling said New Haven officials were wrong to invalidate the results of a 2003 test to promote firefighters to the rank of officer after they learned no black firefighters were among the top scorers, and therefore, would not be eligible for a promotion to lieutenant or captain. White and Hispanic firefighters had made up the top scorers.
The city said it feared being sued by African-American firefighters, so it invalidated the test.
However, the court ruled you can’t discriminate against someone, just because you’re afraid of being sued.
The high court’s action overturns the 2008 decision of a three-judge appeals-court panel that included Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace retiring Justice David Souter.
Sotomayor’s opinion in the New Haven case will likely be one of the most debated issues when her Senate confirmation hearings are held later this month.
As for the ruling itself, it allows for an equal opportunity based on merit. Which is how every opportunity should be handled.
"The process was open and fair," Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the position of the majority on the court, said. "The problem, of course, is that after the tests were completed, the raw racial results became the predominant rationale for the city’s refusal to certify the results."
However, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the dissenting justices she said that New Haven’s tests were flawed.
She also hinted at what’s coming down the pike as President Obama may have the opportunity to appoint perhaps two more Supreme Court justices.
"The court’s order and opinion, I anticipate, will not have staying power," she said.
Ominous.
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The more I think about the direction of the world, the more I consider the futuristic viewpoint offered in the 2006 movie “Idiocracy.”
The movie, which was seen by few, is a humorous look at 500 years in the future when people, due to sloth and technology, actually are considerably less intelligent than they are today.
Jay Leno recently did a retrospective of his “Jaywalking” segments. It’s difficult to believe people walking down the street can’t name a Founding Father, do not know what the Bill of Rights is and when asked, “Who wrote the ‘Autobiography of Malcom X’” don’t have a clue what to say.
Children may not enjoy reading or writing, but they will send thousands of text messages a month.
I like to think the best things about the future of our nation and the world. I see the possibility that it will fail fast. There’s not enough population control, environmental protection, too much lawlessness and too much deadly technology.
I’ve concluded that those sad oblivious yocals on the street texting their friends while not having a care in the world are generally happier than people who try to see too far into the future.
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Newton must be the red fox capital of Vernon County.
I drove through Newton four times on Friday night and I saw three different foxes.
They were lean, lanky and looking for a henhouse.
E-mail Matt Johnson at matt.johnson @lee.net.
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