Judge Sotomayor: Ricci v. DeStefano

A very unusual aspect of President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court is that the Court is simultaneously reviewing one of Judge Sotomayor's decisions.

In Ricci v. DeStafano, 530 F.3d 87, Judge Sotomayor was one of the members of the three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit which, in a brief opinion, upheld New Haven's decision not to certify a fire department promotion examination on the grounds the examination results had a disparate impact on racial minorities. 

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 22, and a decision is expected by the end of June. As I noted yesterday, "Whatever the outcome, it will add fuel to Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearings in the Senate." Today's New York Times ("Sotomayor's Opinions Are Exhaustive But Often Narrow") agrees: DeStafano "will probably attract more questions at her Supreme Court confirmation hearings than any of the many hundreds of much more deeply considered decisions she has written."

Note: The District Court's opinion in DeStefano, which contains a detailed recitation of the facts, is reported at 554 F.Supp.2d 142.