The two parties offered glimpses yesterday of their strategy going into the weeklong Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings that open Monday, announcing outside witnesses who will testify about her.

Republicans' list of 14 includes Frank Ricci, a white New Haven, Conn., firefighter whose reverse-discrimination claim was rejected by Sotomayor and fellow judges on the New York-based Second Circuit federal appeals court.

High court reversal

Republicans point to Sotomayor's decision as evidence that she might let her personal and political views - particularly a belief in racial preferences for minorities - influence her decisions. They will also call Ben Vargas, a Puerto Rican firefighter who scored highly on New Haven's promotion exam and was the lone Hispanic among 19 people joining Ricci in his lawsuit.

Democrats said they had scheduled as witnesses Sotomayor's mentors, confidants, and other allies, including civil-rights leaders and several witnesses with GOP credentials. The goal is to portray her as a mainstream judge with fans across the spectrum.

Bloomberg and Freeh

Among the Democrats' 15 witnesses are Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, her first boss after law school; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who ran as a Republican but became an independent in 2007; former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who was previously a federal judge named by President George H.W. Bush; and Michael J. Garcia, a former Manhattan U.S. attorney who was appointed by President George W. Bush.

If confirmed - as is widely expected - Sotomayor, 55, would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

But first she must endure days in a marble-paneled hearing room under harsh television lights, fielding questions from the 19 Judiciary Committee senators as the public watches.

She has been cramming for the hearings, which will include at least two days of intense question-and-answer rounds with senators. The outside witnesses will weigh in later, and Sotomayor won't be present.

Also on the GOP witness list are Sandy Froman, a National Rifle Association board member and past NRA president who has urged senators to oppose Sotomayor, calling her hostile to the Second Amendment; and Charmaine Yoest, head of Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion-rights group that says Sotomayor has a "pro-abortion agenda."

Liberals who are expected to testify on Sotomayor's behalf include Wade Henderson, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; Theodore Shaw, former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Inc.; and Democratic Reps. Jose Serrano and Nydia Velazquez, New Yorkers who, like the nominee, are of Puerto Rican descent.

Sotomayor was on Capitol Hill yesterday for the first time in weeks, meeting with new Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.), the most junior Judiciary member. She appeared cheerful as she chatted with him before their private talk, telling reporters her broken ankle was much better.