FACTBOX: Reaction to U.S. top court's key racial ruling

(Reuters) - In an important racial discrimination case, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a U.S. city had illegally denied promotions to white firefighters, overturning a lower-court decision joined by President Barack Obama's high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Here is a sampling of reaction to the ruling, which civil rights groups said could affect promotion policies for employers under "affirmative action" programs and which was closely watched in advance of Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings starting on July 13:

CHRISTOPHER METZLER, HUMAN-RESOURCES PROFESSOR AT

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY:

"There simply is not enough in the opinion to make her confirmation more difficult. It does, however, give her opponents the opportunity to score political points by using it to cross-examine her. ... Given the decision by the Chief Justice not to get into the politics of confirmation, it is but a bump in the road for her nomination."

ROGER CLEGG, PRESIDENT OF THE CENTER FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY,

A CONSERVATIVE THINK TANK:

"The justices appear to agree unanimously that the Second Circuit (Sotomayor's panel) got it wrong."

The ruling "suggests that we have somebody who's quite out of sync with the right approach to the law in this area."

TOM GOLDSTEIN, A PARTNER AT LAW FIRM AKIN, GUMP, STRAUSS,

HAUER AND FIELD:

"It doesn't call (Sotomayor's) confirmation into question, and I don't think it will persuade anybody who was inclined one way or the other to change their views about Sotomayor, either in the Senate or in the broader public."

KEVIN RUSSELL, A PARTNER AT HOWE AND RUSSELL:

"Judge Sotomayor and her colleagues on the panel in this case weren't free to depart from (a) legal decision from a prior binding circuit precedent. ... To the extent that this decision is seen as rebuking Judge Sotomayor, that's not really fair as she didn't have any choice in the matter."

CURT LEVEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE COMMITTEE FOR

JUSTICE, A CONSERVATIVE GROUP:

"The politics motivating New Haven's decision highlights the ugliness of the racial spoils system behind many of the nation's affirmative action programs, and reminds us of the demands from Hispanic and women's groups that resulted in Sotomayor's nomination.

MARGE BAKER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PEOPLE FOR THE

AMERICAN WAY, A LIBERAL GROUP:

"It seems conservative legal activists are perfectly happy to have judges rewrite the law as long as they get the result they want. ... The far-right wing of the court defied Congress's well-thought-out design for encouraging diversity and preventing discrimination in favor of its own preferred policy."

JEFF SESSIONS, TOP REPUBLICAN ON THE SENATE JUDICIARY

COMMITTEE:

"This case sharpens our focus on Judge Sotomayor's troubling speeches and writings, which indicate ... that personal experiences and political views should influence a judge's decision. That theory is a breathtaking departure from the proper role of the American judge and will clearly be the subject of questioning at the upcoming hearing."

NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER:

"This decision does nothing to change the fact that Judge Sotomayor acted in a judicially modest way. In fact, it affirms that she followed the rule of law in this case. Judge Sotomayor's critics can't insist on judicial modesty only when they agree with the legal precedent being followed."

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by David Storey)