The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => SCOTUS News => Topic started by: PeteS in CA on March 25, 2020, 10:41:30 pm
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/supreme-court-rightly-refuses-to-see-racism-that-isnt-there (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/supreme-court-rightly-refuses-to-see-racism-that-isnt-there)
Supreme Court rightly refuses to see racism that isn’t there
by Quin Hillyer | March 24, 2020 04:49 PM
In Comcast v. National Association of African American-Owned Media, all nine justices agreed that in a tort lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, the plaintiff must prove that the business decision in question was indeed motivated by — get this — actual racial discrimination. Amazingly, common sense prevails.
Of course, for years, at least in contexts other than tort law, the Supreme Court has been narrowly and often bitterly divided about whether mere racial disparities, even without proof of racial intent, serve as grounds enough to penalize a defendant for racial discrimination. ...
In short, the court has let confusion reign in numerous areas of racial discrimination law.
That’s why the March 23 Comcast case was a welcome relief. To see all nine justices agree on a bright-line test for what does and doesn’t amount to unlawful discrimination is to believe legal sanity can return. ...
Haters of the Ninth Circus Court of Appeals rejoice! For brevity and fair use, a black-owned source of programming, ESN, asked Comcast to carry its programming. Comcast declined for generic, valid, business reasons. Without disputing that the reasons for decline were legitimate, ESN sued. The district court ruled in favor of Comcast, but the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of ESN. The USSC overturned that ruling.