By Diane West

Frank Ricci is “just” a fireman, and not, like Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor, a federal judge. He is “only” a white male, and not, like Sotomayor, a Latina. And while he works in New Haven, Conn., he certainly didn’t attend Yale Law School as Sotomayor did.

For one thing, he’s dyslexic. That’s why Ricci spent more than $1,000 to pay an acquaintance to make recordings of the educational materials Ricci needed to master in order to pass a 2003 test that was specially drawn up for the New Haven Fire Department. The test was to determine who was eligible for 15 lieutenant and captain promotions. After months of intensive study, Ricci scored sixth highest out of 77 candidates. Because the results were deemed racially unacceptable – none of the 19 black test-takers made the cut – New Haven mayor John DeStefano Jr. decided to junk all the test results and promote no one.

That was six years ago. This April, the Supreme Court heard Ricci v. DeStefano, a case that Sotomayor, as part of a three-judge panel, upheld on appeal against Ricci and the 17 other firemen who joined his complaint. Better to perpetuate group grievance, Sotomayor’s decision tells us, than to ensure equality of opportunity. Better to pick winners and losers from the bench than to safeguard the rights of the individual to life, liberty and a fair shot at a promotion.