Is the U.S. Supreme Court Legally Wrong in Its City of New Haven Case?

In a very controversial decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the City of New Haven should have properly considered the promotional exam scores of white firefighters and should not have disregarded them, according to USAToday.com.

The tests were offered "to fill vacancies for lieutenants and captains" in the New Haven fire department, according to the Associated Press. The city wanted to fill the positions but also wanted to make the tests as fair as possible.

Specifically, the City of New Haven, Connecticut, tried to protect itself from lawsuits because they believed that the test could have been proven to be unfair to other test-takers. The results of the tests showed that 56 individuals passed the test. Of those who passed, the list was further narrowed down to determine who was likely for promotion.

It was determined that 17 of the 41 white persons who passed the test were likely for promotion; this is a pass-promotion percentage of 41 percent. There were 15 minority test-takes who passed the test but only two were likely for promotion; this is a pass-promotion percentage of 13 percent.

Legally Wrong

Is it possible for the United States Supreme Court to ever be legally wrong even though the court has the final say when it comes to legal decisions? That is a difficult question, of course.

The answer is yes, the court can be legally wrong. One only has to read the Plessy v. Ferguson decision where the Supreme Court ruled that racial discrimination was constitutional and that "separate but equal facilities were considered sufficient to satisfy the 14^th Amendment," according to an analysis done by NewOrleans.com.

The fact that four Supreme Court justices voted against the decision in this City of New Haven case says a lot about how the court was divided. Over time the Court may be able to come with a standard for how cities or counties should design promotional tests so they are fair to everyone. Let's hope they do so quickly.

Both Sides of the Story

The City of New Haven case was not just about developing a fair test and administering it. There were also the plaintiffs in the case, honest hard-working citizens who studied hard and passed the test and who had their results invalidated, and these test-takers just happened to be white.

Was the test fair to the white persons who took the test but failed it and had no chance at a promotion? Was the test fair to the two individuals in the minority groups who were in line to be promoted because they passed the test and met other requirements which qualified them for a promotion?

It is obvious why the Supreme Court was strongly divided in this case. The issues were exceptionally complicated with no obvious answers. There are no clear victors or losers in the case.

The case is Ricci v. DeStefano and can be accessed at this web page.

Sources

"Supreme Court rules for white firefighters in promotions.," Joan Biskupic, USAToday.com, June 29, 2009.

"Supreme Court: White firefighters bias victims," Mark Sherman, Associated Press, June 29, 2009.

"Civil War and Civil Rights Part II," Cyril B. Saulny, NewOrleans.com.

Ricci v. DeStefano, U.S. Supreme Court decision