WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009
Firefighter to Testify Against Sotomayor
Senate Republicans Plan Testimony from White Conn. Firefighter Whose Reverse Discrimination Case Was Rejected by Nominee
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In this photo taken June 29, 2009, Frank Ricci, left, lead plaintiff in the the "New Haven 20" firefighter reverse discrimination case speaks to the media outside of Federal Court in New Haven, Conn. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Timeline Sonia Sotomayor A look at the life and career of the newest Supreme Court justice.
New Haven, Conn. firefighter Frank Ricci brought a lawsuit challenging his city's decision to scrap the results of a promotion test because too few minorities scored highly enough to qualify. He's one of 14 witnesses Republicans will call during Senate hearings on Sotomayor's confirmation that open Monday.
Sotomayor was part of an appellate court panel that rejected Ricci's claim. The Supreme Court reversed the ruling last week.
Democrats' witnesses include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and former Major League Baseball pitcher David Cone.
The full list of witnesses, as released by the Senate Judiciary Committee, is below:
American Bar Association Witnesses
Kim Askew, Chair of Standing Committee
Mary Boies, Primary Reviewer
Democratic Witnesses
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York
Chuck Canterbury, National President, Fraternal Order of Police
David Cone, former Major League Baseball pitcher
JoAnne A. Epps, Dean, Temple University Beasley School of Law, on behalf of the National Association of Women Lawyers
Louis Freeh, former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Michael J. Garcia, former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York
Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Patricia Hynes, President, New York City Bar Association
Dustin McDaniel, Attorney General, State of Arkansas
Robert Morgenthau, former District Attorney, New York County, New York
Ramona Romero, National President, Hispanic National Bar Association
Congressman Jose E. Serrano, New York 16th District
Theodore M. Shaw, Professor, Columbia Law School
Kate Stith, Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Republican Witnesses
Linda Chavez, President, Center for Equal Opportunity
Sandy Froman, Esq., Former President, National Rifle Association of America
Dr. Stephen Halbrook, Attorney
Tim Jeffries, Founder, P7 Enterprises
Peter Kirsanow, Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
David Kopel, Esq., Independence Institute
John McGinnis, Professor, Northwestern University School of Law
Neomi Rao, Professor, George Mason University School of Law
Frank Ricci, Director of Fire Services, ConnectiCOSH (Connecticut Council on Occupational Safety and Health)
David Rivkin, Esq., Partner, Baker Hostetler
Nick Rosenkranz, Professor, Georgetown University School of Law
Ilya Somin, Professor, George Mason University School of Law
Lieutenant Ben Vargas, New Haven Fire Department
Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life
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Add a Comment See all 78 Comments
- We do not need a racist woman as a supreme court justice.
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- The Republicans have a vested interest in injustice.
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- Anyone receiving a job nder reverse descrimination should be ashamed.
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- First we had joe the plumber (or pseudoplumber), now we have Frank the fireman!
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- Can we at some damn point stop calling it "reverse" discrimination? Is it reverse murder if a white person kills a black one? How about reverse rape?
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- by gravyboat4000 July 9, 2009 2:35 PM PDT
It was appealed, to the Supreme Court, who ruled the law was unconstitutional
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So what you are really saying is that Sotomayor is making un-constitutional rulings, based on her hispanic bias, which then are overturned....how is this good, I don't have a clue........trust me, I know about the bias....I have first hand knowledge, I'm married to a "Wise Latina" from the Bronx,NY - Reply to this comment
- by fred-mertz July 9, 2009 8:08 PM PDT
"What are you so afraid of UnionDame? That a testimony from a firefighter who was racially discriminated against by Sotomayor's decision might wake people up and realize that the RACIST DOOR swings two ways, NOT JUST ONE?" - HeThoughtHeWasFunnyButHeWasJustStupid
WRONG! Sotomayor ruled in favor of the law, and she was NOT alone in doing so. Those ACTIVIST JUDGES, the "supremes", later changed the law, by a split, 5 to 4, vote. You call it "racism" to UPHOLD THE LAW? What kind of repuke are you, anyway? Conservatives are supposed to CONSERVE the status quo!
The testimony of the spoiled white boy who thought he was "discriminated against" is not at all meaningful when considering the confirmation of a supreme court judge. The repukes are grasping at straws. On the vast majority of the appellate cases Judge Sotomayor has ruled on, she has AGREED WITH THE REPUKE JUDGES! If you idiots think you're going to get anyone closer to your "ideology" by rejecting her, you are completely OUT OF YOUR MINDS! Keep up all this obstructionism and President Obama is going to stop trying to appease you lunatics. And that will be a GOOD thing!
you should really do some homework before you spout off to a world wide blog Fred...rico...it makes you look like less of an idiot if you do. 'spoiled white boy'? LOLOL...yep...poor little dyslexic spoiled white guy got a higher score and the hispanic/black who cried wolf based on skin colour...and the so called 'minority in the judges seat...no wait... "wise latina who can make better decisions than any white man" screwed it up and will be the one who faces reprecussions for her own stupid, out of line actions - got NOTHIN' to do w/ republicans and you know NOTHIN' about the fire service. - Reply to this comment
- The GOP is a dying wind bag and this is their last hurrah. This sleazy skin-head of a fire fighter is a racist dog looking for his 15 minutes of fame. Well you know Bozo you used up 14 minutes already so go put out a real fire instead of taking advantage of all the GOP swill and pork. Did you really get a hooker from the GOP to seal the deal?
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- The GOP is a dying wind bag and this is their last hurrah. This sleazy skin-head of a fire fighter is a racist dog looking for his 15 minutes of fame. Well you know Bozo you used up 14 minutes already so go put out a real fire instead of taking advantage of all the GOP swill and pork. Did you really get a hooker from the GOP to seal the deal?
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- I don't care what color you are as long as you are qualified to do the job .If you are not qualified you should not be doing the job . would you want these standards applied to getting a doctors degree
i think not you want someone who can pass there medical school tests.
no less should be expected of police , firemen ,emt's they all make life and death decisions . - Reply to this comment
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