My reflexive reaction to the mini-drama over yesterday's Supreme Court of the United States 5-4 decision in re Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.

Read the story from the Washington Post here.

A lot of buzz on this today.

Quick Reaction:

1. If the law passed by Congress to ameliorate salary discrimination based on race and/or gender clearly stated a time limit of eighteen months for redress (which is what our side claims), then it seems a poorly thought-out law. Unless salaries are a matter of public record (which they rarely are), the time limit places an unreasonable obstacle to challenging unfair labor practices. Off the top of my head: Congress should change the law.

2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and friends should abide by the law. If Justice Ginsburg had succeeded in carrying the day for her side, the ruling would have been a perfect example of legislating from the bench.

Simple Rule: Follow the law. It is not within the province of the judiciary to change the law. In this case, doing the wrong thing for the "right reasons" is still wrong.

I am flying by the seat of my pants on this, as it is not my specialty. Ergo, I welcome some informed commentary. Tocqueville?

UPDATE:

Tocqueville wrote:

Your instincts as usual are sound (although I'm not as convinced as you that the Congress's policy judgment is so patently "unreasonable"). The best commentary I've seen thus far is by David Bernstein over at The Volokh Conspiracy: read here.