Butzel Long attorneys have filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urging the U.S. Supreme Court to apply a legal standard from the Court's voting-rights cases in resolving an employment-discrimination lawsuit brought by a group of New Haven, Connecticut firefighters.
In Ricci v. DeStefano, white and Hispanic firefighters who scored highly on the department's promotional exam sued city officials who discarded the test results because they feared litigation from African-American firefighters and community groups. The white and Hispanic firefighters allege violations of the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but the lower courts sided with the city, relying in part on officials' claims that they feared litigation if they certified the test results and promoted based on them.
The ADL brief filed by Butzel Long is in support of neither party, but rather offers the Court a novel approach to resolving the issue, urging that a municipality in New Haven's position be required to show a "strong basis in evidence" that it actually would be subject to liability, before it could rely on fear of litigation to justify a race-conscious decision. The Supreme Court has applied such a requirement in Equal Protection challenges arising under the Voting Rights Act, but to date has not done so in the context of public employment or promotion. In Ricci, the district court simply accepted the city's professed fear of liability, without requiring any proof.
The amicus brief was prepared and filed by Butzel Long attorneys Michael F. Smith (Washington), Martin E. Karlinsky (New York), Miriam L. Rosen (Bloomfield Hills) and Haralambos D. Mihas (Detroit). To view the brief, please
click here. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument from the parties on April 22.