California Judge: Diversity Quota 'Discrimination … Remedied by More Discrimination'

The California Superior Court has released its reasoning behind declaring the state’s diversity quota law unconstitutional, ruling that only in “very particular cases should discrimination be remedied by more discrimination.”

The law, which requires California-based corporate boards have members from an “underrepresented community” was signed by leftist Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last year.

Conservative legal watchdog Judicial Watch sought a permanent injunction on the measure, citing the Golden State’s equal protection clause, which was granted originally with no explanation from the judge. Judge Terry A. Green’s opinion said the law “violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution on its face.”

“The difficulty is that the Legislature is thinking in group terms. But the California Constitution protects the right of individuals to equal treatment,” Green wrote. “Before the Legislature may require that members of one group be given certain board seats, it must first try to create neutral conditions under which qualified individuals from any group may succeed. That attempt was not made in this case.”

“The statute treats similarly situated individuals – qualified potential corporate board members – differently based on their membership (or lack thereof) in certain listed racial, sexual orientation, and gender identity groups,” he continued. “It requires that a certain specific number of board seats be reserved for members of the groups on the list – and necessarily excludes members of other groups from those seats.”

“California must treat its citizens equally as individuals under the law, and not give discriminatory, preferential treatment to some based on race, ethnicity or LGBT status,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said of the ruling. “This court ruling marks a watershed in the core American value of equal protection under the law for all Americans. And it warns against the pernicious racialism of the radical Left.”

The case is Crest v. Padilla, No. 20 STCV 37513, in the Superior Court of California.

Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.