Today in Supreme Court History: September 6, 1983

9/6/1983: The City of Richmond solicited bids for installing plumbing fixtures at the city jail. The J.A. Croson Company's bid was denied because it did not meet the "set-aside requirement" for minority contractors. The Supreme Court declared this decision unconstitutional in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. (1989).

The Rehnquist Court (1989)

Comments

[DaivdBehar]

One wonders about the reaction to this decision if issued today. The march of Communism is much farther along. All Equity is stale Maoist criticism of the US from the Sixties.

[John F. Carr]

And yet we still see laws directing business towards the preferred race, sex, etc.

[MonitorsMost]

Still a very interesting area of law. Since J.A. Croson, the Court has decided Adarand v. Pena in government set asides and of course several cases in the area of education (Grutter, Fisher, etc.) I think the last time the Court reviewed a private affirmative action in employment case was United Steel Workers v. Weber all the way back in 1979.

[Shamie Ervin iv]

I'm getting old and forgetful at 76 and close to 77. I remembered all of the Justices except one, and it came to me in the night. That was strange.

He was Harry Blackmun. I should have remembered from his wonderful appearance in THE AMISTAD as the SCOTUS Justice who read the final decision freeing the survivors of the Amistad.
From top left to right:
Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, William J. Brennan, CJ William Rehnquist, Byron "Whizzer" White, and Harry Blackmun.

I'm fighting to keep from coming down with the A disease which killed my grandmother.

[Shamie Ervin iv]

Thanks, Professor Josh, for all you do. My life would be blighted without all you conspirators.