Yetter, Warden & Coleman Wins Two Supreme Court Cases to Close Out 2008-2009 Term. Ricci et al. v. City of New Haven The Firm represents a group of firefighters in New Haven Connecticut suing for racial discrimination in promotion practices. The firefighters took a preapproved, race-neutral promotion test. When the test results produced a racial distribution that the City disliked, the City threw out the tests and cancelled the promotions, citing a fear that they might be sued under Title VII by disappointed minority promotion-seekers. The firefighters sued to implement the promotions, bringing claims under the Constitution and Title VII. The district court ruled against them, and the Second Circuit affirmed, and denied rehearing en banc over the strong dissent of six judges. We were called in by trial counsel to assist with the petition, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in early January. On June 29, the Supreme Court rendered a 5-4 decision that held that the City's actions had violated Title VII. Northwest Austin MUD No. 1 v. Holder The Firm won a major victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in this case involving the "preclearance" provision of the Voting Rights Act. The case was argued on April 29, and on June 22 the Court issued its 8-1 opinion reversing the lower court's decision against our client. In an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, eight justices held that the utility district is eligible to pursue "bailout" from the preclearance requirement and expressed concern about whether preclearance remains constitutional. Justice Thomas agreed that the district is eligible for bailout, but dissented in part because he thought the Court should have reached the constitutional issue and invalidated the preclearance provision. The case will now be remanded to the D.C. district court for a decision on the district's bailout request.