Supreme Court Overrules Sotomayor

The Supreme Court handed down its decision today in the reverse discrimination case from New Haven, Ct.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sided with New Haven in the case when it came before her appellate court last year. But the Supreme Court favored the white firefighters who appealed the ruling over the role race should play in job advancement, claiming reverse discrimination.

The vote was 5–4.

There really isn't anything about this that surprises me.

The vote reflects the current makeup of the court — five mostly conservative justices, four mostly liberal justices.

The justice who is retiring — David Souter — dissented. Since Souter has a mostly progressive record with the Supreme Court, it can be assumed that Sotomayor will vote as he probably would have in future cases. At least, in this case, he supported her position.

Each side will spin this case in a way that favors its position. But, when all is said and done, nothing happened that is likely to derail Sotomayor's nomination. Those who were inclined to accuse Sotomayor of judicial activism before are still inclined to do so, but that alone doesn't seem likely to change the outcome.

And nothing has happened that would deter Sotomayor's supporters.

Marc Ambinder writes, in The Atlantic, that the nominee's critics are seizing on the ruling in their quest to deny her a spot on the bench. But those who hope to see Sotomayor's nomination defeated will need something more significant than this in their arsenal.