High Court to hear discrimination case

Washington (WTNH) - Twenty New Haven firefighters will have their reverse discrimination lawsuit heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

It's been five years since their story made the headlines. The firefighters, known as the New Haven 20, will get their case heard by the nation's highest court.

"We undertook this action for the firefighters across the country and for public safety," said Frank Ricci, New Haven firefighter.

Nineteen white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter claim reverse discrimination, saying they were denied promotions because of the color of their skin.

Back in 2003, the city gave tests to determine which firefighters would be eligible for promotions. White candidates received some of the highest scores, but those scores were thrown out in favor of promotion a more diverse group of firefighters.

The New Haven 20 filed a civil rights lawsuit but a federal judge ruled there was no evidence of discrimination.

"This case was a poster case for race politics at its worst. There's no question that politics played a role in the city's decision to gut the command structure of its fire department for reasons of race," said Karen Torre, attorney for the New Haven 20.

The city of New Haven remains confident that the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly decided the issue.

"While the City is not surprised that the Supreme Court decided to grant cert in this case, it remains confident that the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly decided the issue. The City looks forward to presenting its argument to the Justices," a spokesperson for the city said in a written statement.

The case will be heard by the high court in April.