{"id":192,"date":"2009-06-29T14:14:43","date_gmt":"2009-06-29T14:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/06\/more-questions-about-judge-sot.html"},"modified":"2009-06-29T14:14:43","modified_gmt":"2009-06-29T14:14:43","slug":"more-questions-about-judge-sot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/06\/more-questions-about-judge-sot.html","title":{"rendered":"More Questions About Judge Sotomayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, today’s Supreme Court decision<\/a> <\/font>in Ricci v. DeStefano<\/i> is sure to be a hot topic at the upcoming hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The Court reversed a Second Circuit decision that was joined by Judge Sotomayor.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Ricci<\/i>, 17 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter filed suit against the City of New Haven, claiming that city officials had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause when they failed to certify the results of two promotional exams, one for Lieutenant and one for Captain. The city claimed that it would be liable under Title VII for adopting a practice that had a disparate impact on minority firefighters if it certified the test results since no African-Americans would be eligible for promotion to the position of Captain or Lieutenant.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The district court granted summary judgment to the City, and Judge Sotomayor joined an unsigned summary opinion affirming the district court’s decision. By a 7-6 vote, the Second Circuit declined to hear the case en banc<\/i>. Three days before the Second Circuit issued its denial of rehearing en banc<\/i>, the three-judge panel that included Judge Sotomayor withdrew its summary order and filed a per curiam<\/i> opinion adopting the reasoning of the District Court.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The Supreme Court reversed by a 5-4 vote, holding that a race-based action like the City’s violates Title VII unless the employer can provide a strong evidentiary basis for concluding that it would have been liable under Title VII if it had not taken that action. The Court concluded that the City could not meet this standard.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Justice Alito’s concurring opinion stated: “The dissent grants that petitioners’ situation is ‘unfortunate’ and that they ‘understandably attract this Court’s sympathy.’ Post, at 1, 39. But ‘sympathy’ is not what petitioners have a right to demand. What they have a right to demand is evenhanded enforcement of the law–of Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on race. And that is what, until today’s decision, has been denied them.”<\/font><\/p>\n

While the dissenting opinion disagreed with the majority’s analysis, the dissent concluded that the lower courts (including the Second Circuit) had used incorrect analysis, stating “[t]he lower courts focused on respondents’ ‘intent’ rather than on whether respondents in fact had good cause to act. . . . Ordinarily, a remand for fresh consideration would be in order.”<\/font><\/p>\n

The Court’s rejection of Judge Sotomayor’s legal position in Ricci<\/i>–and in several previous cases–highlights the need for the Senate to closely examine Judge Sotomayor’s views on the Constitution, the rule of law, and the proper role of a judge. For example, does she share Justice Alito’s view that sympathy for a particular party is not a proper basis for considering cases, or does she agree with President Obama’s statement that “empathy” for particular parties is a key quality a Supreme Court nominee should have?<\/font><\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, today’s Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DeStefano is sure to be a hot topic at the upcoming hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The Court reversed a Second Circuit decision that was joined by Judge Sotomayor.   In Ricci, 17 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter filed suit against the City of New…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Questions About Judge Sotomayor - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}