Sotomayor defends ruling in case of firefighters who filed reverse discrimination suit

July 16th, 2009 Firefighter criticizes Sotomayor over rulingWASHINGTON — Frank Ricci, the white firefighter who recently won his reverse discrimination case at the Supreme Court, said Thursday that an unfavorable ruling by Sonia Sotomayor and other judges "divides people who don't wish to be divided along racial lines." Ricci and his firefighting colleague from New Haven, Conn., Lt. Ben Vargas, denounced the appeals court ruling by Sotomayor and two other judges on the federal appeals court in New York.

July 16th, 2009 Republicans keep citing Sotomayor firefighter caseWASHINGTON — Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee aren't letting go of the issue involving white firefighters from Connecticut who last month won a reverse discrimination case at the Supreme Court. With firefighter Frank Ricci ready to testify, Sen.

July 16th, 2009 Firefighter says Sotomayor's ruling divides peopleWASHINGTON — Frank Ricci, the white firefighter who recently won his reverse discrimination case at the Supreme Court, said Thursday that an unfavorable ruling by Sonia Sotomayor and other judges "divides people who don't wish to be divided along racial lines." Ricci and his firefighting colleague from New Haven, Conn., Lt. Ben Vargas, denounced the appeals court ruling by Sotomayor and two other judges on the federal appeals court in New York.

July 16th, 2009 Firefighter denounces Sotomayor rulingWASHINGTON — A Connecticut firefighter who lost an appeals court ruling by Sonia Sotomayor has told a Senate panel that in his line of work, advancement has to be determined by skill and qualifications. Frank Ricci was among a group of white New Haven firefighters who were denied a promotion when city tossed out the results of an exam because not enough minorities had scored well enough to be promoted.

July 15th, 2009 Sotomayor debate isn't Ricci's first legal battleNEW HAVEN, Conn. — Frank Ricci's name is on the lips of almost every senator in the Supreme Court nomination hearings of Sonia Sotomayor.

July 14th, 2009 Firefighters' reaction to Sotomayor mixedATLANTA — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings were met Tuesday with mixed feelings from firefighters as lawmakers questioned her opinion in the New Haven, Conn., reverse discrimination case. The Supreme Court recently overturned Sotomayor's decision in the New Haven case, saying a group of white firefighters was wronged when the city threw out the results of a promotion exam because too few minorities did well.

July 14th, 2009 Sotomayor defends 'wise Latina' remarkWASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor stoutly denied racial bias Tuesday at her Senate confirmation hearing and said an oft-criticized remark about her Hispanic heritage affecting her decisions was a rhetorical device gone awry. An attempted play on words "fell flat" in a speech in 2001, Sotomayor told Sen.

July 13th, 2009 Liberals, conservatives battle over RicciWASHINGTON — Firefighter Frank Ricci, scheduled to testify about Sonia Sotomayor's ruling against his reverse discrimination lawsuit, was targeted for criticism Monday by powerful liberal groups who support her confirmation to the Supreme Court. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans decided last week to make Ricci, a white New Haven, Conn., firefighter, one of their showcase witnesses on Thursday.

July 6th, 2009 GOP senator: Will race infect Sotomayor rulings?WASHINGTON — A top Republican senator said Monday that he wants to find out whether Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would let racial bias affect her decisions as a justice. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he assumes Sotomayor understood and supported the stance of a civil rights group she advised in the 1980s that brought several race discrimination lawsuits for minorities who challenged jobs or promotions given to white employees.

July 5th, 2009 Colin Powell attacks critics of SotomayorWASHINGTON — Colin Powell, one of the nation's most prominent African-Americans, is going after people who attacked Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor because of her stand in favor of affirmative action. Powell, who's from the same Bronx neighborhood in New York as Sotomayor, said she should face "a spirited set of hearings" in the Senate.

July 4th, 2009 Group Sotomayor advised fought job testsWASHINGTON — A civil rights group on whose board Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor served filed racial bias lawsuits over employment examinations that resemble a Connecticut case in which she ruled against white firefighters, documents released by the Senate show. The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund represented Hispanic sanitation workers in New York City who wanted to stop white employees from getting promotions because, they argued, the qualifying exam unfairly disadvantaged minorities.

June 30th, 2009 Foes of Sotomayor emboldened by discimination caseWASHINGTON — Foes of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor celebrated the high court's reversal of her decision in a reverse discrimination case. The 5-4 ruling Monday, backing of reverse discrimination claims by white firefighters, is unlikely to derail Sotomayor's nomination — and it may not even sway a vote.

June 29th, 2009 White House: Court ruling shows nominee not biasedWASHINGTON — Spinning a Supreme Court decision in its favor, the White House said Monday that the justices' reversal of a ruling that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge proves that she follows judicial precedent. The high court ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race.

June 29th, 2009 Supreme Court bidding goodbye to SouterWASHINGTON — It's Justice David Souter's last day on the Supreme Court and he'll be ruling on a case familiar to the woman nominated to replace him. It's a reverse discrimination case filed by white firefighters in New Haven, Conn.

April 22nd, 2009 High court hears reverse discrimination argumentsWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is weighing whether a Connecticut city's decision to scrap a promotion exam for firefighters because too few minorities passed violates the civil rights of top-scoring white applicants. The justices are hearing arguments Wednesday in a case from New Haven, Conn., that has the potential to change hiring practices nationwide.