Supreme Court Ruling on the White Firefighters' Case Study

The Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action case changed education. It prohibited state universities from considering a student 's race as a factor in their application. By accepting a student into a university over another student because of their race is completely unconstitutional concerning civil rights. Race-based preferences have major violations concerning the Equal Protection Clause. The court has the obvious authority to prohibit such a thing and they did because it’s the constitutional thing to do. Everyone is equal. Opinions may differ but in this case a majority of people would agree that

The case, Dunlap v. Tennessee Valley Authority, explores the issue of suspected racial discrimination associated with disparate treatment and disparate impact caused by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) against a qualified, experienced boilermaker and foreman that is African American. Questions for the court to evaluate regarding this case include: Is this a case of disparate treatment and/or impact and was the plaintiff, David Dunlap, subject to racial discrimination? Finally, did the TVA use personal hiring practices that allowed for racial bias in the interviewing process?

The U.S is known for its liberty and equality. However, the Supreme Court once had to decide on the rights for African Americans. Since the abolishment of slavery, one court case before the Supreme Court sided against the African American plaintiff fighting for equal rights. In this case the plaintiff, Homer Plessy was arguing his right to ride in a "white only" train car. Unfortunately, he lost his case in Plessy vs Ferguson. Decades later, another plaintiff, Oliver Brown, also took a case before the Supreme Court. Conversely, in this case, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Brown vs Board of Education. This decision began the integration of schools. Despite the fact that these two cases took place almost 60 years apart, they both dealt with a similar issue.

On June 29, 2009, the last day of the United States Supreme Court’s 2008–09 term, the Court rendered the much anticipated decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, 129 S. Ct. 2658, 174 L. Ed. 2d 490 (2009). Ricci was quickly dubbed the “white firefighter’s case” by many, however, the case involved much more than the firefighters’ asserted right to a promotion.

Affirmative action policies are passionately debated by everyone from educators and politicians to ordinary citizens, all who hold differing opinions on both the necessity and validity of the policies. There is no doubt affirmative action is an emotional topic and deals with the

Affirmative Action is an extremely controversial policy that has deeply affected millions of Americans. Balancing equal opportunities and the discrimination of minorities, employers, and government agencies use the policy Affirmative Action. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, Affirmative Action is defined as “An active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women” (Merriam-Webster). One of the main criticisms of Affirmative Action is that it takes employment opportunities out of the hands of qualified applicants, and puts them into the hands of under-qualified minorities. Many government agencies use this policy, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the fourth largest policing agency in the United States.

The affirmative action case I chose for a case study involved the case of Abigail Fisher verses the University of Texas (UT), this suit was originally filed during the second quarter of 2008 after her application for admission into the college was rejected. Her suit alleged her admission was rejected on the grounds of her “race” which was a violation of the equal protection clause found in the Fourteenth Amendment. This case would go completely through the judicial system in the State of Texas, Fifth Circuit of Appeals and finally before the Supreme Court of the United States of America which issued a final ruling in June of 2016.

Most African Americans have faced many injustices, but one court case that can be considered as a major win is Brown versus Board of Education (1965). The case was about how a girl named Linda Brown not being allowed to attend an all-white elementary school. The jurors debated on the fourteen amendment and on the term “separate but equal” (“Brown v. Board of Education”). After many discussions and debate later, court case decision not only gave justice to the little girl, but also to the case regarding Jim Crow like Plessy versus Ferguson that faced injustice of the “separate but equal” which in 1965, “the Supreme Court produced a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy vs. Ferguson” (“Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education”). The case of Brown versus the Board of education was one of the most significant cases because this case was the stepping stone to the justices of previous cases that were ruled against for the fourteen amendment for many minorities. This case shows that peoples’ view point are slowly changing even when discrimination is prevalent; this was not the first time minorities wanted justice for their kids to attend diverse

In Ricci v. DeStefano there were a group of firefighters who took a written exam for promotion in the New Haven, CT fire department. When the results were tallied, more white firefighters passed or did better on the exam than black firefighters, which would have led to a disproportionate number of white candidates getting promoted. As a result of this, the City of New Haven, CT Fire Department, threw the exam out and no one was promoted. This went to the Supreme Court and they found that by discarding the exams, the City of New Haven violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (website).

Since 1954, Brown v. Board of Education ended segregated schools allowing all students to attend the school they want to. The issue of racism and equality are still things that are discussed in the present day and affirmative action is one of the issues that people talk about. Most people are not necessarily comfortable talking about which is part of the reason the issue is still prevalent in today’s society. One of the most notable cases regarding affirmative action is Fisher v. Texas. When comparing this case to Brown v. Board of Education, which could be pinned as the case that began affirmative action, there are many points that can be related to each case. Within the cases, the points that cause issues in society today are race and equality.

Recently the Supreme Court made a ruling that gave schools across the country a higher standard to abide by when using affirmative action when making admission decisions. This case was brought to attention by Abigail Fisher, a white women rejected by the University of Texas. The verdict was a tame one and ruled in favor of Fisher with admissions requiring ““no workable race-neutral alternatives” when a student’s acceptance status is determined. This avoided much debate compared to the capacity the Court has for changing the nation.

based on race. Ending segregation in public schools created more diversity in schools and the workforce, which would be beneficial for the minorities to have a better chance of having equal opportunities or representation in all different areas of their lives. This case additionally opened the doors to fighting other forms of discrimination against minorities, such as discrimination

Ferguson v. City of Charleston, 532 U.S 67 is a case that began Oct 4, 2000 and was decided March 21, 2001. This case involved the constitutionality of drug testing pregnant women. The case began when “a state hospital’s performance of a diagnostic test to obtain evidence of a patient’s criminal conduct for law enforcement purposes is an unreasonable search if the patient has not consented to the procedure” (FERGUSON v. CHARLESTON 2001). This lead to the reviewing of MUSC policies, which lead to discovery of POLICY M–7, which involves the “Management of Drug Abuse during Pregnancy.” This policy made it possible for law enforcement to become involved if a pregnant mother tested positive for cocaine. As a result, these drug testing lead to discussion

Affirmative action is not free from controversies. It is one of the issues in the country, which has raked most controversies

The U.S Supreme Court’s decision in 1986 rejected the Department of Justice's central position on affirmative action, namely, that only identifiable victims of discrimination can benefit from affirmative action. The Court strongly endorsed the use of racial goals in remedying past employment discrimination.