The recent nomination by President Obama of Sonia Sotomayor as his pick for US Supreme Court Justice has sparked debate on whether her judicial “tendencies” fall more to the left, right, or somewhere near the center. From an employment law perspective, her opinions have often sided with the plaintiffs, and this may have some employers concerned that her vote may tip the scales against them.
Sotomayor’s opinions have dealt with race, sex, age and disability discrimination. In particular, look to her reasonings in:
- Norville v. Staten Island University Hospital, 196 F.3d 89 (2d Cir. 1999);
- Cruz v. Coach Stores, 202 F.3d 560 (2d Cir. 2000);
- Parker v. Columbia Pictures, 204 F.3d 326 (2d Cir. 2000);
- Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp., 229 F.3d 374 (2000);
- Raniola v. Bratton, 243 F.3d 610 (2d Cir. 2001);
- Hankins v. Lyght, 441 F.3d 96 (2d Cir. 2006);
- Washington v. County of Rockland, 373 F.3d 310 (2d Cir. 2004); and
- Ricci v. DeStefano, 530 F.3d 87 (2008), (an unsigned opinion now awaiting the Supreme Court's final determination due in June).
A comprehensive review of these and other decisions has been prepared by Akin Gump’s Tom Goldstein and a group of summer associates. The resulting summary of civil cases, including several noteworthy rulings, are posted on ScotusBlog.
No comments:
Post a Comment