Sonia Sotomayor on Affirmative Action

President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court has received favorable reaction from the African-American community.

Sotomayor was a member of a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled that the city of New Haven, Connecticut, could ignore the results of an examination in making decisions on who should be promoted within the fire department. She ruled that the city was permitted to scuttle the test results because not one African American achieved a score that would have qualified him or her for promotion.

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in the case. Most Supreme Court observers believe that the Sotomayor ruling in the New Haven case will be overturned.

Sotomayor’s ruling in the New Haven firefighters case demonstrates that Sotomayor will be a strong voice for affirmative action on the Supreme Court.

Copyright © 2009. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.