"The Court repudiated, not only New Haven's actions, but also the arguments of the Obama Administration and a ruling by Judge Sotomayor."

DENVER, CO. A decision by New Haven, Connecticut, to discard the results of civil service tests because they failed to provide what city politicians believed is a defensible racial balance, is illegal, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled today. The ruling is consistent with a friend of the court brief by Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), which won a landmark 1995 Supreme Court case involving the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

"This is a great ruling for the firefighters who had the courage to bring this lawsuit and for the country," said William Perry Pendley, Esq., MSLF president. "The Court repudiated, not only New Haven's actions, but also the arguments of the Obama Administration and a ruling by Judge Sotomayor."

In 2003, New Haven sought to fill fire department captain and lieutenant vacancies using job-related examinations and merit-selection rules. Although great care was taken to ensure that the examinations were job related, that they produced qualified applicants who were promoted on merit, and that they did not discriminate in any way against the minority candidates and although no credible evidence was presented at court to suggest either that the testing was not completely adequate or that there was intentional discrimination in the examinations or in the fire department, the results of the test were unacceptable to the City because the process produced no African American candidate for captain or lieutenant.

Mr. Ricci, who scored highest on the examinations, and others, sued challenging the City's decision. The District Court found that the "undesirable outcome" of the test "could subject . . . the City's leadership to political consequences" and held that the City's "good-faith" efforts were a defense against race-conscious action and that no race-conscious action took place because all the candidates were treated the same-no one was promoted.

On appeal, a Second Circuit panel upheld the District Court's decision. En banc rehearing was denied by a vote on 7-6. On January 9, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari, and on February 19, 2009, the petitioners filed their opening brief. MSLF filed its brief February 26, 2009.

Mountain States Legal Foundation, founded in 1977, is a nonprofit, public interest law firm dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and the free enterprise system. Its offices are in suburban Denver, Colorado.

Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 08-328 (U.S. Supreme Court)

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Right Side News wishes to express it's deep appreciation for Mountain States Legal Foundation and  William Perry Pendley for the diligence and pursuit of justic exhibited in this issue.  We believe there is no higher cause for the legal profession than protecting the Constitution of the United States and the Rights of all Americans granted.  Thank you.

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written by sam adams, July 01, 2009

Mr Pendley: Thank you for article and its encouraging to see there are organizations out there that are holding on to our dear Constitution for its original intent. God protect the Constitution, and our land will remain free, with liberty and justice for ALL. God bless you sir!

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