New Haven Independent

Attorney Karen Torre submitted the 14 firefighters’ names in a draft order filed with Judge Janet Bond Arterton in U.S. District Court in New Haven on Friday.

The list includes Lt. Ben Vargas (pictured) and 13 other men who belong to the New Haven 20, a group of mostly white firefighters who sued the city over a 2003 promotional exam. They claimed their rights were violated when the city threw out the test results because African-Americans performed poorly. The case, Ricci v. DeStefano, just landed back in New Haven after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on behalf of the plaintiffs.

At the time they sued, the New Haven 20 didn’t know how well they did on the test; they later learned their standing through the process of discovery. Torre’s list names those who performed high enough on the test to be promoted. It confirms that not all of the New Haven 20 were slated for promotion.

The city also submitted a proposal Friday regarding promotions. The city’s filing is less specific. It argues that the city should promote firefighters who would have been promoted in the first two years following the 2003 exam. No names are mentioned. The list is expected to include not just members of the New Haven 20, but other successful test-takers, too.

Click here to read the New Haven 20’s draft order, and here to read the city’s.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, New Haven Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden said, “We look forward to proceeding with promotions and end this aspect of litigation … Our proposed process allows for transparency so that the results of the 2003 exam will no longer be shrouded in secrecy.”

Judge Arterton will make a ruling on the two promotions orders. A jury trial is expected to determine the amount of damages in the case.

Past stories on fire department promotions and the Ricci case:

• Ricci’s Back In Court
• After Ricci Ruling, Black Firefighter Sues City
• Ricci Takes The Stand
• In D.C., Two Latino Views On Sotomayor
• Dems Swing Back On Ricci
• ConnectiCOSH Kibosh
• Sotomayor: I Didn’t “Hide” Ricci Case
• Is Ricci Being Smeared?
• Sotomayor Speaks On Ricci
• Ricci Takes Center Stage
• Watley: I’d Have Promoted Ricci
• Firebirds, NAACP: Ricci Won’t Stop Us
• “If You Work Hard You Can Succeed In America”
• Was He The Culprit?
• Supreme Court Overturns City On Ricci
• On Page 25, A Hint
• Minority Firefighters Vow Post-Ricci Unity
• Ricci Ruling Won’t End Quest
• Ricci, Sotomayor Brand DeStefano
• Firefighter Case Reveals Surprise Obama Stand
• Justices Zero In On Race-Based Distinctions
• Rights Groups Back Black Firefighters
• The Supreme Stakes: Title VII’s Future
• Dobbs v. Bolden
• Latino Group Backs White Firefighters
• Black Firefighters: Ricci Case Poses Grave Threat
• NAACP Backs City In Firefighter Case
• Paging Justice Kennedy
• Fire Inspectors Promoted
• Fire Inspector List Approved
• U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Firefighters’ Case
• Fire Promotions Examined in Supreme Court