WASHINGTON - A US judge rejected a criminal settlement with Boeing over the 737 MAX crashes on Thursday, slamming diversity policies at the aviation giant and the Justice Department that made him "skeptical" of a fair outcome.
In the ruling, US District Judge Reed O'Connor blocked Boeing's guilty plea under a deferred prosecution agreement in the case which dates back to two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
The agreement would have seen the Justice Department choose a monitor to ensure that Boeing complies with the agreement.
But O'Connor wrote that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at the Justice Department left him "skeptical" of its assurances that it will pick a monitor solely based on skill.
"The court is not convinced ... that the Government will not choose a monitor without race-based considerations," said O'Connor, who gave the parties 30 days to update the court on next steps in the case.
Under the agreement, the Justice Department was to choose six candidates to serve as monitor, and Boeing had the option to strike one of them.
But, O'Connor wrote in the 12-page ruling, he feared Boeing would decide which one to strike "in a discriminatory manner and with racial considerations."
He cited Boeing policies committing to goals such as adequate representation of Black people in company leadership.
His ruling criticized the DEI policies at Boeing and the Justice Department as "against the public interest."
"In a case of this magnitude, it is in the utmost interest of justice that the public is confident this monitor selection is done based solely on competency," O'Connor said.
"The parties' DEI efforts only serve to undermine this confidence in the Government and Boeing's anti-fraud efforts."
Neither Boeing nor the Justice Department had immediate comment on the ruling.