WASHINGTON — Firefighter Frank Ricci, scheduled to testify about Sonia Sotomayor's ruling against his reverse discrimination lawsuit, was targeted for criticism today by powerful liberal groups who support Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans decided last week to make Ricci, a white New Haven, Conn., firefighter, one of their showcase witnesses on Thursday. His reverse discrimination suit against the city of New Haven was rejected by a three-judge appeals court panel that included Sotomayor.

Ricci challenged New Haven, Conn.'s decision to scrap the results of a promotion test because too few minorities scored high enough to qualify. Two weeks ago the Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote, overturned the decision to dismiss the suit.

People for the American Way, a liberal group, noted today Ricci got his firefighting job in New Haven "by claiming discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects Americans from discrimination over disabilities." Ricci has dyslexia, a learning disability that impairs the ability to read.

"I don't think Mr. Ricci thought that his being hired was a case of reverse discrimination against those who weren't disabled," said Marge Baker, the group's vice president. "But you can't have it both ways; these laws can't be good when you use them to protect yourself and bad when they're used to protect someone else."