Why Sotomayor Is the Right Pick
I applaud President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.
I am thrilled because Sotomayor would be the first Supreme Court Justice of Hispanic descent to sit on our nation’s highest court.
I am delighted because Sotomayor would be only the third woman to sit on the Court.
I am happy because of Sotomayor’s compelling personal story, of how it may be possible for her, a person of such humble and poor background, to reach such an exalted position.
I am pleased because Sotomayor is known as a moderate jurist.
Yes, I am proud, because I am part-Hispanic and even though I am not a woman.
But, most of all, I am proud as an American, that in our country we now have a black President, and may have a Hispanic person sitting on the Supreme Court.
Having said all that, I hope that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is fairly and objectively debated and considered for the Supreme Court, not because she is Hispanic; not because she is a woman; not because of her humble background and extraordinary “life experiences;” not because of her moderate record; not because of her “common touch,” measure of “empathy,” “sense of compassion;” and not because she “brings a lifelong commitment to equality, justice and opportunity,” .
I hope she is judged on her experience, her character, her intellect, her “mastery of the law,” her respect for the Constitution and for “the achievements of our founding fathers,” and on her firm belief “in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights.”
I have no doubt that she’ll pass such judgment with flying colors, albeit not without a, hopefully, clean and noble fight.
All the rest, her heritage, her gender, her life experience, etc., are—as we say in the trade—”just gravy.”
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7 Responses to “Why Sotomayor Is the Right Pick”
President Obama will nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor
If confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, Judge Sotomayor, 54, would replace Justice David H. Souter to become the second woman on the court and only the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court. She also would be the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.
See details of her biography:Judge Sonia Sotomayor-news-online
Oh sure, Dorian.
Dance in the streets with your Hispanic relatives while the Native Americans continue to cry the tears of the unrepresented.
Revel in the success of a Latina while the Eskimo women go unnoticed.
Rub it in that Sotomayor has two legs, while the Portuguese American amputees wait for their turn at the bench.
When you make choices based on identity rather than merit, there is always another group to be offended.
She was picked for being a Hispanic woman. I really wish that we as a country were past that but looking at all the old white guys on the court I guess we're not yet there. I just hope law is more important to her than politics.
Don't give a hoot what sex she is, what race she is, or what party she is. I want her to be able understand the law as written and uphold it impartially and with empathy overcoming her and ruling according to what she thinks should be written rather than what is actually there.
Actually, she's not the first Hispanic Justice. That award goes to Justice Cardozo who was appointed in the 20s. Sotomayor is just the first Hispanic in the era when race matters more than qualifications or brains, when it is more important to appoint an Hispanic, Asian, or African-American woman than it is to appoint a qualified white man. That being said, I approve of the pick. She's qualified, even if she's not done much with her job except hold herself out as a Supreme Court Candidate.
Good point. PJBfan
From The Volkoh Conspiracy:
Justice Cardozo as “Hispanic” or “Latino”:
The discussion prompts me to reprise a couple of items I posted in the very first month of this blog on the subject:
1. Note Justice Cardozo's Hispanic surname, a traditional way of testing Hispanic status; actually, I think the name is Portuguese, but if it's good enough for the U.S. government, it's good enough for me: Title 49, section 26.5 of the Code of Federal Regulations (the definition that's used in the contracting race preference programs administered by the Department of Transportation) defines “Hispanic Americans” as
persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race.
There's no doubt, to my knowledge, that Cardozo was indeed of Spanish or Portuguese origin; in fact, a recent biography describes the shaping experiences of Cardozo;s youth as including participation in a leading Spanish-Portuguese cultural organization. True, his family probably left the Iberian Peninsula over 350 years before his birth, but that's true of many Hispanics as well. And he likely had no American Indian blood, but that's true of many Hispanics, too.
At the same time, I can certainly understand both why many Hispanics would be enthusiastic about having a Hispanic appointed to the Court, and why they wouldn't count Cardozo as one of them: Ethnicity tends to be defined in practice by felt cultural bonds, and not by Code of Federal Regulations definitions.
Much more at:
http://volokh.com/posts/1243361519.shtml
Dorian
psychic empathy…
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