CORRECTED LINK

Over 100 people packed the Grand Courtroom of the Quinnipiac University School of Law last night to hear a panel presentation and discussion on the Ricci v. DeStefano case decided earlier this year by the United States Supreme Court.

The event, sponsored, in part by the Young Lawyers Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, provided some useful nuggets for practitioners and employers on the significance of the decision.

Attorney Karen Lee Torre (who represents the group of firefighters challenging the city’s decision) and New Haven Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden (who represents the City of New Haven — though he has only been in that position for seven months) both talked about what they thought the Ricci case would mean going forward and some of the history leading up to the decision as well. 

The discussion was taped for the CT-N network, which will replay it at times to be announced. 

I used Twitter last night to update people on the event and hit the highlights. Here are some of the tweets to give you a flavor:

  • At the Ricci v DeStefano seminar, with counsel for parties. Real good crowd–over 100. Getting set for CT-N taping
  • At seminar, Ricci atty says Alito’s opinion meant most to her. Lots behind the scenes ‘I can tell you it was dirty’
  • Ricci atty: This was really about ‘crude race mongering’
  • Ricci atty: There wasn’t a single precedent for the lower court’s decision or supporting New Haven’s rationale. SCOTUS was just applying law
  • Ricci atty: My prediction is private e’ers will use test results without much problem; public e’ers still subject to political pressures
  • New Haven Corp Counsel now speaking; emphasizes history of past discrimination & context of city’s decision in Ricci
  • New Haven atty: Court took disparate impact and treatment & pitted against each other; treatment trumps impact
  • New Haven atty: What does Ricci mean for e’ers? Fuzzier answer figuring out the ‘strong basis in evidence’ standard – what’s enough
  • New Haven atty: Ricci decision gives a way to think about the right way for promotions
  • Ricci atty: Court has told us what isn’t ‘strong basis in evidence’ (stray remarks, experts)–but still some murkiness on what is
  • Ricci atty predicts that the case will never be overturned and the Constitutional question (equal protection) will be decided in 5 yrs

Recent published reports stated that the parties are now working on a settlement to this matter.  But regardless, expect to hear more about this case for years to come as attorneys try to decipher the court’s latest pronouncements on race discrimination..

(My thanks to Attorney Mark Dumas who also used Twitter from the event. You can find Mark’s blog here.)