Ricci vs. … Sotomayor

After five years, New Haven Fire Department Lt. Frank Ricci got the chance to get even with Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee evaluating her for the Supreme Court that the nominee mishandled his case.

Never once mentioning Sotomayor by name, Ricci said Sotomayor erred by upholding a lower court decision — a decision recently overturned by the Supreme Court.

Ricci was the lead plaintiff in the Ricci v. DeStefano case, in which white firefighters sued the city of New Haven, Conn., for throwing out the results of a promotion test after minority firefighters failed to qualify.

“We never asked for sympathy from the courts,” Ricci told the committee. “We simply asked for serious consideration of our claims and an acknowledgement of our basic right to be treated fairly.”

– J. Taylor Rushing