Frank Ricci

Since I used to live in New Haven, Connecticut, I have been following a case from there that made its way to the Supreme Court. Now more people are paying attention to the case because President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee sided with the city against Frank Ricci.

Let me tell you about Frank Ricci. He is a firefighter in New Haven, Connecticut. He suffered from dyslexia, which hampered his academic achievements in high school. He worked hard and studied at a local community college in order to be a New Haven firefighter.

When the opportunity for promotion was posted, he decided to do all he could to achieve it. He quit his second job so he could spend as much as 13 hours a day studying for the promotional exam. Because of his dyslexia, he spent money not only on books but on a tutor who could read them to him. After all this hard work and study, he took the test and finished sixth on the lieutenant’s exam.

If this sound like “the all-American success story,” it was. Just one problem. The city denied promotions to him and the others who qualified. The reason for the denial was simple: not enough minorities qualified. Ricci and the other 19 firefighters sued the city for setting aside their test scores. They studied and worked hard. Yet they were denied their justly-deserved promotions because other racial groups either did not apply or did not qualify.

Over the next few weeks we will hear lots said and written about the role of empathy in a judge’s decision. Some will argue that a judge must be impartial. Others will argue that a judge must also have empathy. Frankly, I think this is a case you can choose to decide with either your head or your heart. Either way, I think you would come to the same conclusion.

Frank Ricci and the other firefighters worked hard, studied hard, and believed in the American dream yet were denied that dream because of the city of New Haven. Let’s hope the Supreme Court agrees. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.