Obama to name Sotomayor as Supreme Court nominee

[OnePimpTiger]

Obama to name Sotomayor as Supreme Court nominee

At first, the article makes her sound like an almost bipartisan pick:

President Obama has chosen federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, two sources told CNN on Tuesday.

Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and third female U.S. Supreme Court justice if confirmed...

...Supporters say that appointment history, along with what they call her moderate-liberal views, would give her some bipartisan backing in the Senate.

She has her issues apparently:

But she has suffered through recent stinging criticism in the media and blogs from both the left and right over perceived -- some defenders say invented -- concerns about her temperament and intellect.

Then it comes out that maybe she's not so moderate...maybe some of you remember this, we had a big discussion about it not too long ago:

Conservatives point to, among other things, her authoring of a 2008 opinion supporting the city of New Haven, Connecticut's decision to throw out the results of a firefighter promotion exam because almost no minorities qualified for promotions.

The Supreme Court heard an appeal of the case in April; a final opinion is pending.

"Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important that the law as written," said Wendy Long, counsel to the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network.

"She thinks that judges should dictate policy and that one's sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench. ... She has an extremely high rate of her decisions being reversed, indicating that she is far more of a liberal activist than even the current liberal activist Supreme Court."

And then this:

There had been wide speculation that Obama would name a woman to the court, which has one female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Obama also had been under pressure to nominate a Hispanic justice to the court.

Fantastic...Obama bows to pressure and picks another political activist masquerading as an objective judge, the one thing I was hoping against.

[angel0430]

I was going to say that I was very happy because she is from Puerto Rico ( I am from Puerto Rico), but I did not know all this stuff about her. She seems very selfish and she thinks she is better than everybody else.

Good info

[OnePimpTiger]

I will allow that this is by far not a comprehensive history and doesn't tell the whole story, but if CNN's rose-colored glasses see it this way, it's a pretty safe bet it's that bad or worse.

[gatorboymike]

To these people, anyone left of Rush Limbaugh is a "liberal activist." Knee-jerk accomplished.

[mikesilvia]

Because we need more judges who feel that judges create policy and not the executive or judicial branch. :)

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[mikesilvia]

Another nice quote:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor, who is now considered to be near the top of President Obama’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees.

[OnePimpTiger]

Another nice quote:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor, who is now considered to be near the top of President Obama’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees.

What does that even mean? Latina women are smarter than white males? Does being a Latina woman somehow give her knowledge relative to judicial matters that a white male does not have? Maybe this is why some people have had "concerns about her temperament and intellect."

[OnePimpTiger]

A few more notes I found:

Sotomayor: Gender, ethnicity should influence judges

"I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society," she said at the event, sponsored by the law school. "I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions. The aspiration to impartiality is just that — it's an aspiration because it denies the fact that we are by our experiences making different choices than others."

"Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice [Sandra Day] O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement,"

From the same source as Mike's earlier quote. I take that to mean she also believes women and "people of color" should be judged differently than white males...

Past Sotomayor rulings faced tough crowd on high court

Over the course of almost 17 years on the federal bench, Sotomayor has written opinions on at least eight cases that the Supreme Court later reviewed on appeal, according to a CNN analysis of Sotomayor's cases. Of those cases, six were either overturned or sent back to the lower court for further consideration. One case was upheld, but Sotomayor's legal reasoning was panned in the opinion signed by entire court. An eighth case is still being deliberated.

Eight of her cases reviewed by the Supreme Court...six overturned, her legal reasoning discarded in one, and the other still being deliberated. So so far she's batting .000 with one fielder's choice and still at the plate on one. Great qualifications!

[duwal]

What does that even mean? Latina women are smarter than white males? Does being a Latina woman somehow give her knowledge relative to judicial matters that a white male does not have? Maybe this is why some people have had "concerns about her temperament and intellect."

she said that as pertaining to issues more directed towards women as in abortion, feminine health care. She's just saying a woman would have more insight on some issues over guys that have had no issues with it over the course of their life, she can give a better perspective on the process or concerns

[OnePimpTiger]

she said that as pertaining to issues more directed towards women as in abortion, feminine health care. She's just saying a woman would have more insight on some issues over guys that have had no issues with it over the course of their life, she can give a better perspective on the process or concerns

Well that's understandable, but I don't think that should come into play as a judge. Judges are supposed to interpret the law in accordance with the facts presented, not be understanding of female or minority situations...or white males for the matter.