N-Word Question Spurs Tiff in Case of Lawyer Demoted for ‘Ghetto’ Remark

Is it more offensive for a white person to use the N-word than for a black person to use it?

That question was put to Detroit Deputy Mayor Saul Green during a deposition in a suit filed by the city’s former top lawyer, who was demoted for telling court staffers that one court was perceived as a “ghetto court,” the Detroit News reports. The lawyer, Kathleen Leavey, claims in a reverse discrimination suit that her ghetto remark would have been overlooked if she were black.

During his deposition, Green was asked whether the word “ghetto” is racist. He said the answer would depend on the context. When he was asked the N-word question, a lawyer for Detroit instructed him not to answer it.

Now Leavey’s lawyer, James Fett, is asking a federal judge to sanction the city for instructing Green not to answer, according to the story. The question "goes to the heart of the matter," Fett says. In the alternative, Fett wants Green to be allowed to answer the question and to be deposed again at the city’s expense.