Economics Expert Witness & Fire Fighter Verdict

The Connecticut state Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a Superior Court jury verdict awarding two black firefighters hundreds of thousands of dollars for their complaint that the city of New Haven unjustly denied them promotions based on their race. The unanimous decision, written by Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, went against plaintiffs Lt. Christopher Texeira and retired Lt. John Brantley, who won the jury ruling in July 2005.

However, attorney Martyn Philpot Jr., who represents the two firefighters, cited testimony during the trial from economics expert witness Gerald Jaynes, a Yale professor of economic and African-American studies. According to Rogers’ ruling, Jaynes testified underfilling “favored white males because they were the greater portion of individuals who were, in fact, underfilled.”

For more, see nhregister.com.