The first day of the Alito confirmation hearings is barely over, and already Senator Ted Kennedy has been caught in a lie. Here’s part of what he had to say in his opening remarks:
In an era when America is still too divided by race and by riches, Judge Alito has not written one single opinion on the merits in favor of a person of color alleging race discrimination on the job: in 15 years on the bench, not one.
Well, either Ted Kennedy is a liar or his staff didn’t look at Alito’s record. Here’s what the Committee for Justice found when they looked at Alito’s rulings:
* In Zubi v. AT&T Corp., 219 F.3d 220 (3d Cir. 2000), Judge Alito dissented from the majority’s holding that a man who claimed he was fired because of his race could not sue in federal court. According to Judge Alito, the plaintiff was entitled to sue because a longer statute of limitations applied. The Supreme Court later vindicated Judge Alito’s dissent. See Jones v. Donnelly & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369 (2004).
* In Goosby v. Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc., 228 F.3d 313 (3d Cir. 2000), a race and sex discrimination case, Judge Alito reversed the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment to the defendant employer. The Third Circuit ruled that the plaintiff, a black woman, had introduced enough evidence to call into doubt the employer’s explanation for why she was given lower-quality assignments.
* In Smith v. Davis, 248 F.3d 249 (3d Cir. 2001), an African-American probation officer brought a claim of race and disability discrimination in violation of Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Judge Alito joined a unanimous decision to reverse the lower court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant employer.
* Judge Alito’s dissent in Sheridan v. DuPont, 100 F.3d 1061 (3d Cir. 1996) (en banc), is a principled balancing of the interests of employees and employers, and the Supreme Court later vindicated it.
* Judge Alito interpreted the Supreme Court’s holding in a previous case as requiring that a Title VII plaintiff who produces certain evidence ? i.e., that the employer’s stated reason for the employment decision was false ? should “usually” but not necessarily “always” be permitted to go to trial.
* The Supreme Court agreed with Judge Alito’s Sheridan dissent in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000). Reeves was a unanimous opinion signed by Justice O’Connor ? whose seat Judge Alito is poised to take.
* In Bray v. Marriott Hotels, 110 F.3d 986 (3d Cir. 1997), Judge Alito would have affirmed the trial court’s ruling for the employer because the plaintiff, an African-American woman, had failed to meet her burden of proof under relevant Supreme Court precedent.
* Marriott explained that it promoted a white female instead of the plaintiff because the white female had a higher objective employee rating, had superior experience, and had participated in more seminars and training sessions.
* Judge Alito argued that discrimination claims of require evidence of actual discrimination, not just evidence that an employer failed to comply with its own internal procedures.
So, Senator Kennedy, you are right. There is “not one” case in which Alito sided with a minority Plaintiff, there are eight.
H/T: Michelle Malkin
Technorati Tags: Alito, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
