Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Appointment

[Mtbkski]

Sonia Sotomayor
Currently Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

According to liberal legal commentator Jeffrey Rosen, lawyers and clerks who have worked with Sotomayor question her competence, saying that she's "not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench," and that there are concerns "about her command of technical legal details."

Sotomayor recently approved a city's racial quota system and its decision based on their skin color - to deny 18 firefighters earned promotions. Even the liberal Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen and her own colleague, Judge Jose Cabranes, a Clinton appointee, expressed shock and disappointment at Sotomayor's irresponsible attempt to reject the firefighters' important legal claims without even fairly analyzing them in her opinion approving racial discrimination.

Sotomayor said in a 2002 speech at Berkeley that she believes it is appropriate for a judge to consider their "experiences as women and people of color" in their decision-making, which she believes should "affect our decisions."

Well, this should be interesting.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama tapped federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, officials said, making her the first Hispanic in history picked to wear the robes of a justice.

If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor, 54, would succeed retiring Justice David Souter. Two officials described Obama's decision on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had been made.

Administration officials say Sotomayor would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice confirmed in the past 70 years.
A formal announcement was expected at midmorning.

Obama had said publicly he wanted a justice who combined intellect and empathy—the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans.
Democrats hold a large majority in the Senate, and barring the unexpected, Sotomayor's confirmation should be assured.

If approved, she would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court.

Sotomayor is a self-described "Newyorkrican" who grew up in a Bronx housing project after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings. As a girl, inspired by the Perry Mason television show, she knew she wanted to be a judge.

A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former prosecutor and private attorney, Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992.

As a judge, she has a bipartisan pedigree. She was first appointed by a Republican, President George H.W. Bush, then named an appeals judge by President Bill Clinton in 1997.

At her Senate confirmation hearing more than a decade ago, she said, "I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it."

In one of her most memorable rulings as federal district judge, Sotomayor essentially salvaged baseball in 1995, ruling with players over owners in a labor strike that had led to the cancellation of the World Series.

As an appellate judge, she sided with the city of New Haven, Conn., in a discrimination case brought by white firefighters after the city threw out results of a promotion exam because two few minorities scored high enough. Ironically, that case is now before the Supreme Court.

Obama's nomination is the first by a Democratic president in 15 years.
His announcement also leaves the Senate four months—more than enough by traditional standards—to complete confirmation proceedings before the Court begins its next term in the fall.

Republicans have issued conflicting signals about their intentions. While some have threatened filibusters if they deemed Obama's pick too liberal, others have said that is unlikely.

Given Sotomayor's selection, any decision to filibuster would presumably carry political risks—Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the population and an increasingly important one politically.

Abortion rights have been a flashpoint in several recent Supreme Court confirmations, although Sotomayor has not authored any controversial rulings on the subject.

Sotomayor's elevation to the appeals court was delayed by Republicans, in part out of concerns she might someday be selected for the Supreme Court. She was ultimately confirmed for the appeals court in 1998 on a 68-28 vote, gathering some Republican support.

Among those voting against her was Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, now the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee that will hold sway over her confirmation.

Now, more than a decade later, Sotomayor possesses credentials Sessions said he wanted in a pick for the high court—years of experience on the bench. Obama had talked openly about the upside of choosing someone outside the judiciary—every single current justice is a former federal appeals court judge—but passed on at least two serious candidates who had never been judges.

Sotomayor has spoken openly about her pride in being Latina, and that personal experiences "affect the facts that judges choose to see."
"I simply do not know exactly what the difference will be in my judging," she said in a speech in 2002. "But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage."

From the moment Souter announced his resignation, it was widely assumed Obama would select a woman to replace him, and perhaps a Hispanic as well.

Others known to have been considered included federal appeals judge Diane Wood, who was a colleague of the president's at the University of Chicago law school, as well as two members of his administration, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Solicitor General-nominee Elena Kagan.

If confirmed, Sotomayor is unlikely to alter the ideological balance of the court, since Souter generally sides with the so-called liberals on key 5-4 rulings.

But at 54, she is a generation younger that Souter, and liberal outside groups hope she would provide a counterpoint to some of the sharply worded conservative rulings.

At least she's replacing a liberal.

[knight0334]

Oh brother..

Keep stockpiling guns and ammo boys and girls... Fecal matter will collide with the rotating bladed device sooner or later.

[adymond]

What happened to being respecters of law and not men? Or Justice being blind? Shouldn't a judge dismiss their own personal opinions and biases (as much as possible) and rule within the rule of law? WTF?

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Woops, I didn't realize we had a news section.

http://forum.pafoa.org/national-11/6...s-nominee.html

[PocketProtector]

The "O" statement about "empathy" confounds me. To the sheeple that sounds oh soo nice, but for pete's sake this is the law of the land not Dr. Phil.

[cigarmanpa]

well, we're fucked...

[RocketFoot]

Woops, I didn't realize we had a news section.

http://forum.pafoa.org/national-11/6...s-nominee.html

I merged the 2 threads together to keep all important info in one place...

[Green Lantern]

Both sides are going to argue one way or the other about her. She was appointed by GHWBush and then promoted by Clinton so both the R's and the D's have had a hand in her career.

She is also a name that has been at the top of the lists in the recent past when there have been openings on the SC.

CNN had an interesting statement earlier that stated that Obama was under pressure to put a Hispanic on the bench. Why?

Why was it necessary to put a Hispanic? Why not put the best person on the bench that is qualified for the job? Race and sex should not matter. Affirmative Action at play?

[ChamberedRound]

I sincerely hope that the Senate will seriously deliberate over our President's choice, instead of just being a rubber stamp. Theoretically, their approval is required precisely for this reason: to keep ideological extremists like Sotomayor away from seats of authority and power.

This is an appointee that IMHO should be flatly denied by the Senate.