Center for Equal Opportunity - CEO Praises Supreme Court's Ricci Decision Opinion in New Haven Firefighters Case

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CEO Praises Supreme Court's Ricci Decision Opinion in New Haven Firefighters Case

Friday, 26 June 2009

Opinion in New Haven Firefighters Case Follows Brief Filed by CEO

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(Falls Church, VA) The Center for Equal Opportunity praised the Supreme Court's decision today in Ricci v. DeStefano, in which it ruled that the civil rights of twenty New Haven firefighters were denied when their promotion test results were thrown out because they were the wrong skin color.

"Americans of every race and color can celebrate this decision later this week over the Fourth of July weekend," said CEO chairman Linda Chavez. "The Supreme Court has vindicated the principle that, in a nation dedicated to proposition that all men are created equal, they are also equally protected by our civil rights laws."

CEO president and general counsel Roger Clegg also praised the Court's decision, and noted that it followed the legal framework and arguments set out in a brief filed by the Center for Equal Opportunity. CEO had also urged the Court to grant review in the case.

Clegg added, "The Court today rejected the opinion below authored by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as did the Obama administration in its amicus brief. In fact, even the four dissenters indicated in footnote 10 that Judge Sotomayor's ruling was incorrect. We look forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee exploring Judge Sotomayor's opinion with her during her confirmation hearings next month."

The Center for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization that studies issues relating to race and ethnicity nationwide.

L-R: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Manhattan D.A. Robert Morganthau , Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, New Haven Firefighters Frank Ricci and Lt. Ben Vargas, attorney Peter N. Kirsanow, and Linda Chavez, chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity are sworn in before testifying on July 16, 2009 on the fourth day of confirmation hearings for US Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Opinion in New Haven Firefighters Case Follows Brief Filed by CEO

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