RICCI V. DESTEFANO: SMOKE, FIRE AND RACIAL RESENTMENT

Ricci v. DeStefano involved claims that the City of New Haven, Connecticut discriminated against a group of white and Hispanic firefighters who received the highest scores on two civil service examinations. Statutory claims were asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Two separate constitutional claims alleged violations of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. One of these claimed reverse discrimination to the disadvantage of the white and Hispanic firefighters, and the other contended that New Haven created an unlawful racial classification when it declined to promote the white and Hispanic firefighters. View More