Maybe I can generalize this into a rule: if either of operands 2 or 3

to the ternary operator are boolean constants, don't use the ternary operator.

a ? true : x   ==  a || x
a ? x : true   ==  !a || x
a ? false : x  ==  !a && x
a ? x : false  ==  a && x

src/java/com/samskivert/depot/tests/TransformTest.java

@@ -54,8 +54,7 @@ public class TransformTest extends TestBase
         }
 
         @Override public boolean equals (Object other) {
-            return !(other instanceof CustomType) ? false :
+            return (other instanceof CustomType) && value.equals(((CustomType)other).value);
-                value.equals(((CustomType)other).value);
         }
 
         @Override public int hashCode () {