News analysis: Ricci ruling is not clear-cut
On June 29, 20 New Haven firefighters — 19 white, one Hispanic — stood outside the federal courthouse on Church Street. Hours earlier, the Supreme Court had resolved the case Ricci v. DeStefano in their favor.
Dressed in blue uniforms, the “New Haven 20,” as they have come to be known, declared victory on a legal battle that began in 2004, when the city scrapped the results of a promotional exam after finding that black firefighters had scored poorly.
In a 5–4 decision, the Court’s majority asserted that the city of New Haven’s reason for throwing out the test’s result...
Talk about provocations - Brittain and the NAACP and the black firefighters lawyers want to defy the ruling and keep suing? Brittain would get sued personally for trying to obstruct the firefighters promotions. The NAACP would get sued, Tinney would get sued, his black firefighters organization would get sued, the New Haven firefighters would end up emptying out their bank accounts and seizing their property. All of them sued just like the Ku Klux Klan has been sued for conspiracy. Add in a few claims for tortious interference and deliberate infliction of emotional distress. Wow, what a cool sequel to Ricci.