Sotomayor and Quotas

Sotomayor and Quotas

The Supreme Court's decision this week in the New Haven firefighters case may cause problems for its newest prospective member, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The court found in favor of a group of white and Hispanic firefighters who were denied promotions despite having passed the city's promotion exams with flying colors. The city threw out the test results because no black firefighters scored high enough to win promotions, and Judge Sotomayor sided with the city when the case came to her on the Second Circuit.

Appellate judges often get reversed by the Supreme Court, but...