Sotomayor defends ruling in case of firefighters who filed reverse discrimination suit

Sotomayor: Ruling in firefighter case was narrow

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has defended her ruling against white firefighters who accused the New Haven, Conn., government of engaging in reverse discrimination against them.

At the prompting of Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy Tuesday, Sotomayor said that the unanimous ruling she participated in on a panel of the 2nd U.S. circuit court of appeals was narrowly drawn.

She said it was about an examination for firefighter promotions, “not about quotas, not about affirmative action.”

Sotomayor said the judges were basing their ruling on precedent and acknowledged that the Supreme Court now has reversed field in its 5-4 ruling in favor of the firefighters.