WH: Ruling re-interprets civil rights

WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court decision that federal civil rights law could be used to ban discrimination against whites re-interprets the law, the White House said.

"The Supreme Court clearly had a new interpretation for Title VII of the Civil Rights Act," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during a news briefing. "And so I think some of the very concerns that members of the Senate have expressed about judicial activism seem to be, at the very least, upside down in this case."

In its 5-4 decision, the court ruled that New Haven, Conn., violated civil rights of white firefighters when the city decided to scrap results of promotion tests because no blacks and one Hispanic scored a passing grade. City officials said they did not want to risk exposure to suits from blacks and Hispanics.

The court overturned a federal appeals court decision in which Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor participated. Gibbs said he didn't think the reversal would affect her nomination to the Supreme Court.

He noted Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito also had decisions reversed before being elevated to the Supreme Court.

However, the conservative Judicial Watch said the high court's ruling "is further confirmation that Judge Sotomayor should not be confirmed for the United States Supreme Court."

"The Supreme Court found that Judge Sotomayor helped uphold an action that was in violation of our nation's anti-discrimination laws," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "The question for the United States Senate is whether to confirm someone who thinks it is appropriate to discriminate based on race simply to protect oneself from a lawsuit."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. -- the state where Sotomayor was born and sits on the federal bench -- said the court ruling "provides a different take on the law than what had been in place for 38 years and was followed by eight out of eight federal judges."

"This in no way suggests the 2nd Circuit panel decision was wrong," Schumer said.