SCOTUS and Ricci
By LisaB on June 30, 2009 at 4:01 PM in Current Affairs
CBS/AP reported that SCOTUS found for the white firefighters in the notorious Ricci v. DeStefano case.
Opinion (.pdf) here.
New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision.
The controversy started when New Haven voided its entire 2003 promotional exam after the results made 18 whites – but no blacks – eligible to become officers. When the city decided to promote no one, the white firefighters called that invalid under the Constitution.
New Haven was worried that if they actually promoted those who scored at the top of the test, they’d be sued. SCOTUS said fear of such a suit wasn’t reason enough to throw out the scores. The 5-4 decision reversed that of the appeals court, which included Judge Sotomayor at the time.
CNN follows up with a story that says 2/3 of those polled felt the high scoring firefighters were discriminated against.
A new national poll suggests that nearly two-thirds of Americans think white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut where discriminated against when the city tossed out the results of a promotion exam after too few minorities scored high enough on the test.
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A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey released Monday morning, as the Supreme Court handed down it’s ruling, indicates that 65 percent of those questioned say the firefighters were victims of discrimination and should get promotions based on the test results, with 31 percent feeling that the city should a new test to make sure minority firefighters were not victims of discrimination.
I’ve heard many arguments about the test used with some arguing that “stereotype threat” was part of the problem as well as the possibility that majority AA schools – because of historic discrimination – are not capable of preparing students for such tests and so AA test-takers are disadvantaged. Some also argue that one of the plaintiffs clearly had an advantage because he could take time off to study for the exam. That same plaintiff also paid a friend to read manuals into a recording because the firefighter has dyslexia.
I think that had that firefighter who paid a friend to read for him been in wonderful schools, he might have more strategies for dealing with dyslexia than resorting to paying someone to create audiobooks. That guy also really really wanted the promotion, so he took the time off (from a second job) to prepare. As for the other arguments of “stereotype threat” and sub-par majority AA schools, I’d like more details on how either is so debilitating that men brave enough to fight fires would not have a way to deal with either.
Given these are real people, exactly what were the problems? Was the test given in a “whites only” space? Were all the proctors white? Did the test use only “white” English (and wouldn’t use of Ebonics be offensive anyway?), were the AA firefighters given less time to study or less time to complete the test? Were they separated into different rooms or scored differently? What, exactly, did the city or the non-black firefighters do to ensure that AA firefighters would not succeed? And if it was not the white firefighters’ fault and not the AA firefighters’ fault, then we should all look at the test. If the test was discriminatory, why did the city only discover that after the fact? Did it use pictures that only showed white firefighters? I’d really like specifics about these arguments.
Wouldn’t it be really interesting to know what the AA firefighters who took the test think about it? Wouldn’t it also be interesting to know what they thought about the city invalidating the test based on AA performance? I just don’t think any firefighter would appreciate that, but maybe they’d point to real issues with the test. I’d like to know.
And is multicultural achievement on a test prima facie proof the test itself is valid? Is any test that has a preponderance of high achievers from any particular group at any time thus discriminatory? Do we need quotas for test results to validate them?
Lastly, many people seem interested in what the reversal means to Sotomayor’s SCOTUS nomination. Personally, I’m more interested in what our “post-racial” President has to say.
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
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.by David Fredosso who wrote 2008's 
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