U.S. Supreme Court nixes equal pay ruling due to judge's death
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out an appeals court ruling in favor of a woman’s equal pay claim against a California county because the judge who authored the decision died before it was issued.
In a unsigned opinion with no noted dissents from any of the nine justices, the high court directed the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the case because of Judge Stephen Reinhardt’s death.
The judge, known as a liberal, died on March 29, 2018 at age 87. The unanimous 9th Circuit ruling in favor of math consultant Aileen Rizo, who accused Fresno County of paying her less than men who performed similar work, was issued 11 days later.
The Supreme Court faulted the 9th Circuit’s decision to allow Reinhardt to participate in the ruling.
“That practice effectively allowed a deceased judge to exercise the judicial power of the United States after his death. But federal judges are appointed for life, not for eternity,” the high court said.
While the ruling by the 11-judge 9th Circuit panel was unanimous, the judges differed over the legal rationale.
Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham
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