Celebrities from the law, politics, and baseball are among those scheduled to testify next week during Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.
Testifying at the request of Republicans will be Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff in the racial discrimination suit brought by New Haven, Conn., firefighters in which the U.S. Supreme Court last month overturned a 2nd Circuit panel that included Sotomayor. A lieutenant from the New Haven fire department will also testify, and among those joining them will be Linda Chavez, a former Reagan administration who is critical of affirmative action, and Sandy Froman, former president of the National Rifle Association.
Leading the case for Sotomayor at the request of Democrats will be New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who served with Sotomayor as a federal judge in Manhattan; and former Major League Baseball pitcher David Cone, who was on the players' union's negotiating team during the baseball strike that Sotomayor helped end.
The list, released today by the Senate Judiciary Committee, also includes two witnesses from the American Bar Association who will likely discuss — at least in general terms — their rating of Sotomayor as "well-qualified" for the Court. The witnesses will likely testify late in the week.
The full list after the jump.
For the American Bar Association
Kim Askew, K&L Gates partner, chair of the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary
Mary Boies, Primary Reviewer
For Senate Democrats
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York
Chuck Canterbury, National President, Fraternal Order of Police
David Cone, former Major League Baseball pitcher
JoAnne A. Epps, Dean, Temple University Beasley School of Law, on behalf of the National Association of Women Lawyers
Louis Freeh, former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Michael J. Garcia, former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York
Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Patricia Hynes, President, New York City Bar Association
Dustin McDaniel, Attorney General, State of Arkansas
Robert Morgenthau, former District Attorney, New York County, New York
Ramona Romero, National President, Hispanic National Bar Association
Congressman Jose E. Serrano, New York 16th District
Theodore M. Shaw, Professor, Columbia Law School
Kate Stith, Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
For Senate Republicans
Linda Chavez, President, Center for Equal Opportunity
Sandy Froman, Esq., Former President, National Rifle Association of America
Dr. Stephen Halbrook, Attorney
Tim Jeffries, Founder, P7 Enterprises
Peter Kirsanow, Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
David Kopel, Esq., Independence Institute
John McGinnis, Professor, Northwestern University School of Law
Neomi Rao, Professor, George Mason University School of Law
Frank Ricci, Director of Fire Services, ConnectiCOSH (Connecticut Council on Occupational Safety and Health)
David Rivkin, Esq., Partner, Baker Hostetler
Nick Rosenkranz, Professor, Georgetown University School of Law
Ilya Somin, Professor, George Mason University School of Law
Lieutenant Ben Vargas, New Haven Fire Department
Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life
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