New Haven, Conn., firefighters file into Hart 216 as Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor (right) greets well-wishers Wednesday. (Karen Bleier/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
Updated 8:30 p.m., July 15
Roughly a dozen New Haven, Conn., firefighters filed into Hart 216 this morning for the third day of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing. Frank Ricci is among the firefighters in attendance, but he is not sitting with the rest; he is standing near a TV on the side of the room.
Ricci, the lead plaintiff in the discrimination case that has fueled much of the debate over Sotomayor, has been called upon as a witness by ranking member Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Ben Vargas, another firefighter from New Haven, is also scheduled to testify. The Judiciary Committee will begin questioning outside witnesses -- 15 for Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and 14 for Sessions -- on Thursday.
Nearly every senator who has questioned Sotomayor so far -- all but Tom Coburn, R-Okla. -- has probed her about the Ricci v. DeStefano case (though it has received less attention than her "wise Latina woman" remark). Sotomayor hasn't elaborated much beyond her participation on the three-judge panel ruling that reaffirmed (in a one-paragraph opinion) a lower court's ruling. She, along with the Democratic members of the committee, have emphasized that she is simply following precedent. In his questioning this morning, Texas Republican John Cornyn -- like Sessions on Tuesday -- touched on how short the panel opinion was.
CORRECTION: The original version of this report incorrectly reported that Sotomayor shook hands with the New Haven firefighters. She shook hands with several members of the armed services.
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