Justice Sonia Sotomayor

That's the word from the Associated Press. President Barack Obama is expected to officially announce his nomination of federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter later this morning. In the meantime, check out Reason.com's forum on who Obama should have picked.

Comments

[Enough About Palin]

She's got the right skin color and genitalia. What's not to like?

[franz kafka]

What a joke. And an intellectual lightweight.

[Xeones]

A minute ago, under the "Awards and honors" heading on her Wikipedia page, someone wrote, Does she have any degrees that were earned in any way other than "honorary"? It's gone now.

Let the games begin.

[Jason Freely]

Hell yeah baby, hit and run...hit & run!

RT
http://www.anoweb.alturl.com

[Kyle Jordan]

"She's got the right skin color and genitalia. What's not to like?"

Odalay juero! Ju bes' watch what ju say or ju get cut, esse...

Have to read up on her. Hopefully she won't be an atrocity waiting to happen.

[John]

Affirmative action mediocrity. When you are a liberal and Jeffrey Rosen is saying you are not very bright, you are a serious lightweight. The only positive thing you can say about it is that she is replacing Ginsburg. So it is not like she has big shoes to fill.

[robc]

At a quick glance, she may be about the least objectionable candidate we could expect from Obama.

Any Ivy Leaguer. Sigh.

There is a very good reason that MOST supremes are ivy leaguers...they are the best law schools. However, somewhere in the US is the brilliant legal (and financial!) mind that went to some state law school to avoid running up a mountain of debt.

[robc]

John,

Even you ought to be able to tell the difference between Souter and Ginsburg.

[SugarFree]

robc,

Both are wrinkled midgets who are sexually attracted to men. I'd say John made an honest mistake.

[Diogenes]

So I heard she was born in the PJ's in New York....about 50 times, within 10 minutes, on every news channel. Every story basically starts with "born in a housing project" and goes about as far in-depth as "big Yankees fan" and "Hispanic woman". Information overload.

[robc]

SugarFree,

Fair enough.

[robc]

Im pretty sure "Yankees Fan" disqualifies you from the SCOTUS. IIRC, it is in the constitution.

[robc]

I was right. From Article 3:

The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, shall not profess loyalty to the New York Yankees, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

[Enough About Palin]

"Odalay juero! Ju bes' watch what ju say or ju get cut, esse..."

No offense meant. It's just that last week someone suggested replacing the word "diversity" with "the right skin color and genitalia"

Works pretty good.

[John]

"John,

Even you ought to be able to tell the difference between Souter and Ginsburg."

God, that is funny. I really did switch Souter and Ginsburg. I follow this stuff and Souter, Ginsburg, and Beyer just fade into a nameless, boring liberal rabble. They are easily the three most un-remarkable judges of my life time. Stevens is at least remarkable for being really old. Kennedy is remarkable for playing both sides against the middle. Those three just kind of fade into each other.

[Diogenes]

Ah yes, the Bronx Bombers clause.

[John]

"The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, shall not profess loyalty to the New York Yankees, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office."

Clearly, the last thing you would ever want is a judge who actually rooted for winners. Better to have one who roots for teams that suck for entire centuries or a majority of them. A penchent for histrionic self abuse doesn't strike me as a good quality in a judge.

[Xeones]

On the plus side, we'll be able to power at least six entire states with the energy generated by LoneWacko's incandescent rage. That's as green as it gets, folks.

Lest i forget: preemptively shut the fuck up, LoneWacko.

[Warty]

Is she more of a lightweight than Harriet Miers? The mind reels.

[mitch]

...somewhere in the US is the brilliant legal (and financial!) mind that went to some state law school to avoid running up a mountain of debt.

Come on, somebody who worried about debt just wouldn't fit in with Obama and his crew.

[John Thacker]

Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Hmm, she's the one whose most famous case is writing the opinion in the firefighters' decision, right? The one that Damon discussed here.

[Diogenes]

I live near New Haven. That city is fucked. They would be even worse if, ahem, *Yale* weren't downtown.

[Kyle Jordan]

Enough about Palin,

I didn't make myself clear. I was joking. Sorry about that mang.

I agree with you in full on this.

[John]

"Is she more of a lightweight than Harriet Miers? The mind reels."

I don't know if I would go that far. But she definitely plays in the same league with Myers.

[Ben]

Sure. When I think "intellectual lightweight" I think "summa cum laude from Yale". She must be a total moron.

[J sub D]

Wow! *Yawn*
A woman you say? Who'd have predicted that?

I'll bet his next SCOTUS pick is a minority (hispanic or black).

Any takers?

[robc]

John,

Not normally one to pick on spelling, considering my track record and not wanting to invoke joez law, but really, is it that hard to spell a name correctly when you quote the correct spelling?

I only bring this up because your posts are hard to read due to a habitual misspelling of names on your part.

[John]

I guess the knock on her in the New Haven case is not so much that she voted against the firefighters. It is that she tried procdural maneuvers to keep them from getting a shot at Supreme Court review. I guess extremism in furtherance of the race is no vice.

[Bingo]

Well it doesn't seem like its worse than it was before at least... right?

[robc]

When I think "intellectual lightweight" I think "summa cum laude from Yale".


SIDESHOW BOB: "Oh come, now. You wanted to be Krusty's sidekick since you were five! What about the buffoon lessons? The four years at clown college?"

CECIL: "I'll thank you not to refer to Princeton that way."

I thought it was Yale in the quote, but Princeton/Yale, what's the diff?

[Enough About Palin]

Sotomayor: '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'...

[John]

"Sotomayor: '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'..."

That is the kind of statement that passes un-noticed when made by a minority that just drives me crazy. I guess since she is a Mexican, it is okay for her to be a racist.

[Xeones]

John: she's Puerto Rican, not Mexican.

[Ben]

She's Puerto Rican.

Christ, do any of you do a simple Google search before mouthing off?

[Barry Loberfeld]

What we don't want her to be - another Breyer:

To those of us suffering under the delusion that the Constitution was supposed to "secure the Blessings of Liberty," Breyer reveals that its purpose was "to create a framework for democratic government -- a government that, while protecting basic individual liberties, permits citizens to govern themselves." But how can it protect "individual liberties" when such protection is precisely what doesn't allow "citizens to govern themselves"? Or is "basic" actually Breyerspeak for as few as possible?

At this point a certain feeling may be creeping over many, an eerie kind of d?j? vu. It grows only stronger when Dionne reclaims the mic. "Breyer's argument," he explains, "leads not to judicial activism but to judicial humility. He insists that courts take care to figure out what the people's representatives intended when they passed laws. You might say that justices should not behave like imperious English professors who insist they can interpret the true meaning of words better than those who actually wrote them." Now that tore away the disguise, didn't it? This isn't the "living document"/"evolving Constitution" rhetoric that the Left's been blaring all these years. The exalting of majoritarian democracy over individual liberty, the insistence that this view reflects the "intentions" of the Framers of the Constitution -- who can mistake it? Who can still not see that behind the meek figure of Stephen Breyer looms -- as his alter ego -- the monstrous presence of ...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

[Enough About Palin]

"I guess since she is a Mexican, it is okay for her to be a racist."

I wonder who this wise Latina woman is that she's referencing.

[SugarFree]

robc,

It's OK, you are the right one anyway... Ben got it wrong. She came loud at Princeton for undergrad, not Yale for her J.D.

[Ben]

And clearly, if the best you can do is summa cum laude Yale undergrad, you gotta be a total idiot. Yup, its just like when Bush nominated his secretary!

[John]

If she is Puerto Rican, then she is not the daughter of immigrants. She is not first generation American. Puerto Rico is not a country. It is part of the US. I assumed she was Mexican because they keep playing up the "first generation immigrant" angle. I will take the hit for thinking she was Mexican. But, the people who are saying she is a "first generation American" need to take the hit for not knowing Puerto Rico is part of the US>

[Solanum]

Clicked on this thread hoping to see Lonewacko defecating from his mouth, left disappointed.

[Pro Libertate]

I don't know enough about her to have an opinion. She sounds more political than scholarly, but that's not unusual in Supreme Court appointees. I imagine she leans left (despite Wikipedia's categorization of her as a "centrist"), but that's to be expected.

She's Puerto Rican, eh? That always makes me think of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You."

Ben,

Not that this is a big deal, but if she'd graduated from Yale with honors, her bio would say so. So she's not a top ten percenter. On the flip side, she was a law review editor, which means that she can probably write (I seem to recall that Yale's law review selection is done by write-on only--could be wrong about that).

[P Brooks]

Christ, do any of you do a simple Google search before mouthing off?

Fuck, no.

[Kyle Jordan]

"Clicked on this thread hoping to see Lonewacko defecating from his mouth, left disappointed."

The day is young.

[John]

"She's Puerto Rican, eh? That always makes me think of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You."

It makes me think of the tourism commercials that say "no passport needed" because apparently no one in the country is smart enough to know that Puerto Rico is not a country.

[P Brooks]

Hey, the Presidential Suit is announcing the choice, right now.

What the fuck does he know about "rigorous intellect" or "mastery of law"?

[John]

"What the fuck does he know about "rigorous intellect" or "mastery of law"?"

Hold it. You mean Obama was just a lecturer at Chicago instead of tenured track? You mean he has never written a piece of legal scholarhip of note? You mean that he was never a private attorney of any note? Next you are going to tell me that all of his books were just ghost written autobiographies. P. Brooks you are really a killjoy today.

[hmm]

I wonder if the supreme court is going to over turn her retarded race based summary judgment against the firefighters in Connecticut.

She's just another progressive choice. There will be another when Ginsberg goes. No one thought any other judge would be appointed.

[Ben]

While Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, a Puerto Rican migrating to New York is a very different experience from, sayn a Michiglander migrating to New York.

[P Brooks]

"She saved besbol!"

[Ben]

Were they all written by Bill Ayers, John?

You're a trip. Like a GOP blast fax made flesh. If it wasn't for the horrible spelling I'd wonder if you were a bot.

[John]

From the dissent of the denial of enbanc review of the New Haven case. It was written by a Clinton appointee and doesn't say much very good about her and her reasoning. In an ideal world, her handling of the case would disqualify her.

"This per curiam opinion adopted in toto the reasoning of the District Court, without further elaboration or substantive comment, and thereby converted a lengthy, unpublished district court opinion, grappling with significant constitutional and statutory claims of first impression, into the law of this Circuit. It did so, moreover, in an opinion that lacks a clear statement of either the claims raised by the plaintiffs or the issues on appeal. Indeed, the opinion contains no reference whatsoever to the constitutional claims at he core of this case, and a casual reader of the opinion could be excused for wondering whether a learning disability played at least as much a role in this case as the alleged racial discrimination.

[John]

"While Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, a Puerto Rican migrating to New York is a very different experience from, sayn a Michiglander migrating to New York."

Yes because New York is such an alien hostile place for Puerto Ricans. The community there is so small and isolated. You are trying to be funny right?

[Lost_In_Translation]

It makes me think of the tourism commercials that say "no passport needed" because apparently no one in the country is smart enough to know that Puerto Rico is not a country.

Other than some meager tourist income and a really large radio telescope, I don't know why we keep PR on the dole. PR should be cut loose.

[John]

"Were they all written by Bill Ayers, John?"

Who knows. Who cares. Regardless, there is no indication Obama did anything of note after leaving law school and before running for Senate beyond write books about himself. Good work if you can get it I guess.

[Tom Walls]

For some reason, we have to fill out customs declarations when sending packages to PR.

> It makes me think of the tourism commercials that say "no passport needed" because apparently no one in the country is smart enough to know that Puerto Rico is not a country.

[Lost_In_Translation]

While Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, a Puerto Rican migrating to New York is a very different experience from, sayn a Michiglander migrating to New York.

Yeah, PR's bitch about the cold more.

[Ben]

The size of the community has nothing to do with it. Try a little harder.

[John]

"The size of the community has nothing to do with it. Try a little harder."

What the fuck are you talking about you idiot. The fact that you can move into a large, established community full of people from where you are from makes all the difference. Further, having a US passport and don't have to fuck with getting a green card or living here illegally or the stress of knowing you are one arrest from being deported makes life a lot easier. What are you, the retarded version of Joe or something? If you ahve a US passport, you are not an immigrant.

[Lost_In_Translation]

The size of the community has nothing to do with it. Try a little harder.

Its those pesky Jets getting the Sharks down.

[SugarFree]

While Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, a Puerto Rican migrating to New York is a very different experience from, sayn a Michiglander migrating to New York.

Bullshit. The number of Puerto Ricans in New York dwarfs the number of people from Michigan. There are nearly a million Puerto Ricans in New York state, compared to only 4 million in Puerto Rico itself.

A Puerto Rican moving to New York is the equivilent immigrant experience as a Michigander moving to Wisconsin.

[John]

"A Puerto Rican moving to New York is the equivilent immigrant experience as a Michigander moving to Wisconsin."

Actually, it is a lot harder for the Michgander in those circumstances. If you are a Puerto Rican moving to New York, you don't have to listen to Packer fans make fun of the Lions all the time.

[KT]

Does anyone actually know anything about this lady, or did everyone just decide they don't like her? That TNR article about her was just pathetic.

[Lost_In_Translation]

A Puerto Rican moving to New York is the equivilent immigrant experience as a Michigander moving to Wisconsin.

WTF? Why would anybody from Michigan move to Wisconsin? Get out of the mid-fucking-west you fools!!

[John]

"Does anyone actually know anything about this lady, or did everyone just decide they don't like her? That TNR article about her was just pathetic."

I know that

1. She did a really horrible job in the New Haven Case.

2. She made an appallingly racist statement in a law review article.

3. You have to wonder about any minority, liberal woman who manages to get a hit piece run on them in TNR. It is like a National Review running a hit piece on a black conservative. Something is definitely up.

[SugarFree]

Actually, it is a lot harder for the Michgander in those circumstances. If you are a Puerto Rican moving to New York, you don't have to listen to Packer fans make fun of the Lions all the time.

Good point.

And, of course, we aren't counting all the sexual assaults that happen every year during the NYC Michigan Pride Parade.

[Ben]

John, I know a Puerto Rican isn't an immigrant, but they're SEEN as immigrants anyway by the guy on the street.

That's why its different. You calling her a Mexican and people calling her "first generation" is a pretty good demonstration of that!

[Lost_In_Translation]

3. You have to wonder about any minority, liberal woman who manages to get a hit piece run on them in TNR.

DOES NOT COMPUTE. TNR is a conservative mag, what is odd about them running a hit piece on any liberal.

However, your other points are valid.

[robc]

Why would anybody from Michigan move to Wisconsin?

They are tired of the UP and want to live someplace warm, like Stevens Point?

[Enough About Palin]

"Try a little harder."

Why not just explain what you mean. If I want puzzles, I'll go to a puzzles website.

[John]

"That's why its different. You calling her a Mexican and people calling her "first generation" is a pretty good demonstration of that!"

I don't see Puerto Ricans as immigrants. That is why I assumed she was a Mexican.

[Lost_In_Translation]

John, I know a Puerto Rican isn't an immigrant, but they're SEEN as immigrants anyway by the guy on the street.

You're playing the "oppressed foreigner" card way too early in this game. Rookie mistake.

[John]

"DOES NOT COMPUTE. TNR is a conservative mag, what is odd about them running a hit piece on any liberal."

In what universe? The New Republic, as opposed to National Review, is anything but conservative. It is total mainline liberal.

[Lost_In_Translation]

They are tired of the UP and want to live someplace warm, like Stevens Point?

they hate the south that much? I guess its a good thing. Keeps 'dem yanks where dey belong. =P

[P Brooks]

I don't know why we keep PR on the dole.

Ask Pfizer and Lilly.

As I was fumbling for the remote, I heard the Suit extolling the hardship of her early years: The Projects, ignoramus Dad, the whole diorama of struggle and want.

Empathy, thy name is Sotomayor.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Whoops. National Review and New Republic did get switched in my head.

[John]

"The Projects, ignoramus Dad, the whole diorama of struggle and want."

Did she have a typical white person for a grandmother?

[P Brooks]

people calling her "first generation" i

You mean, "people" like the Presidential Suit, who stressed the fact that her parents immigrated in the 'forties?

[Ben]

Can I get a little ACORN John? Something about Rev. Wright would be awesome, too.

[Diogenes]

Disclaimer: I write all of John's comments with the help of my Sean Hannity doll. Just pull a string on his back and out come the gems.

[Ben]

Diogenes, how do you explain the horrible spelling?

[bobst]

this is great...keep it coming!!! But seriously,
is there anything that ANYONE can report about
her legal background that the GOP can feast on?

[MNG]

What a boringly predictable pick...But as I told my liberal friends at our weekly Secret Sunday Night Poker Game/Roundtable Meeting to Install a Multi-culturalist-Communist Dictatorship, don't expect any interesting, impressive pick as this is the guy who picked Joe Biden as his running mate.

[bobst]

Diogenes; isn't that left for"I think/know that I
am WA-A-A-A-A-A-Y better than ALL of you.

[MNG]

So which Republican Senators will get peeled off and vote for her?

Snowe, Collins, anyone else?

[Pro Libertate]

MNG,

On that, we can agree. I was hoping he'd fall for the black woman born of sharecroppers without looking too closely at her opinions. Or, if he did look, he'd view Brown as "socially liberal" as opposed to "libertarian."

[SugarFree]

This decision is a fun kaleidoscope of confirmation bias to shine her through:

In Amnesty America v. Town of West Hartford, 361 F.3d 113 (2d Cir. 2004), anti-abortion protesters brought a Section 1983 suit alleging that a town had improperly trained and supervised police officers who had allegedly used excessive force in arresting them. The district court granted the town summary judgment, and the Second Circuit reversed. Judge Sotomayor's opinion found that the plaintiff-protesters' allegations were sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding the objective reasonableness of the officers' conduct. "Because a reasonable jury could find that the officers gratuitously inflicted pain in a manner that was not a reasonable response to the circumstances, . . . the determination as to the objective reasonableness of the force used must be made by a jury following a trial." The court of appeals also found sufficient evidence for the plaintiffs to proceed on their failure to supervise theory ("a single action is sufficient to expose [a municipality] to liability"), though not the allegation of failure to train.

[shrike]

Disclaimer: I write all of John's comments with the help of my Sean Hannity doll. Just pull a string on his back and out come the gems.

That's funny.

I just caught up on the "GOP should embrace Liberty as an Issue" thread and John the Hannity Doll was nowhere to be found in the comments section. Looks like he decided to employ his hackneyed GOP talking points somewhere he might drone over another "guest" with meaningless noise.

[P Brooks]

I suspect Step One of the Quest was to do a Lexis/Nexis (do those guys even exist, anymore?) search of the prototypical "Conservative Press" for laudatory prose regarding any potential Jurist. Disqualification would, of course, ensue.

[Citizen Nothing]

I didn't know liberals played poker, MNG. Live and learn...

[kinnath]

So I had guessed asian lesbian. What we get is a Puerto Rican who is still hiding in the closet.

Close enough for government work.

[P Brooks]

So I had guessed asian lesbian.

Hillary Clinton's secretary is a judge?

Live and learn...

[shecky]

No need for Lonewacko around here.

[SugarFree]

I didn't know liberals played poker, MNG. Live and learn...

They do, but only strip.

[Rib O\'Flavin]

I heard her gavel has "SONIA's SWEET MALLET OF JUSTICE" inscribed on it in an alternating crimson / fuchsia Helvetica.

Confirm / deny?

[John]

"I just caught up on the "GOP should embrace Liberty as an Issue" thread and John the Hannity Doll was nowhere to be found in the comments section. Looks like he decided to employ his hackneyed GOP talking points somewhere he might drone over another "guest" with meaningless noise."

I wasn't aware I was obligated to post on every thread. I also missed the memo about how a woman who went out of her way to deny people due process rights and apparently thinks your judicial temperament is determined by the color of your skin is somehow "libertarian". Can you pull Obama's cock out of your mouth for just one thread shrike?

[anon]

Sotomayor was a tireless crusader for Latino affirmative action while at Princeton University. She was at war with the administration over what she told the student newspaper was a "lack of commitment" in hiring "Puerto Rican and Chicano administrators."

In 1974 Sotomayor wrote an ope-ed in the Daily Princetonian explaining why the Puerto Rican and Chicano students had filed a complaint with the University:

The lack of commitment on the part of the university to the Puerto Rican or Chicano heritage seems self-evident from these facts. Yet statistical evidence is not the total concern or complaint of the Puerto Rican or Chicano students--what is terrifying to us are the implications. The facts imply and reflect the total absence of regard, concern and respect for an entire people and their culture. In effect, they reflect an attempt--a successful attempt so far--to relegate an important cultural sector of the population to oblivion.

Chicanos were the first natives of the Southwest. They were the largest population sector to become citizens when the Southwest was incorporated into the United States. Puerto Ricans constitute 12 percent of the population in New Jersey. Immediately surrounding Princeton--New Brunswick, Trenton, and Newark--they constitute 15 percent of the population. Yet we estimate that over 90 percent of the Princeton community knows nothing about either culture other than that we speak Spanish and that we are presently complaining about something. The members of the student body, for the same reason they study the French, Russians, English or Chinese, are the ones to benefit from the inclusion of our culture into the Princeton community and curriculum. Puerto Rican or Chicano students have no great need to study about their own culture--we live it. What good is it to know about what happens west of the Urals if you do not know what is happening a few miles around you.

It has been said that the universities of America are the vanguard of societal ideas and changes. Princeton University claims to foster the intellectual diversity, spirit and thoughts that are necessary components in order to achieve this ideal. Yet words are transitory, it is the practice of the ideas you espouse that affect society and are permanent. Thus it is only when Princeton fulfills the goal of being a truly representative community that it can attempt to instill in society a respect for all people--regardless of race, color, sex or national origin.

This is strikingly similar to the case President Obama made this morning in favor of Sotomayor's appointment to the Court. It was her experience, her background, her "extraordinary journey" that argued in her favor, and her appointment would be "another important step toward realizing the ideal that is etched about its entrance: Equal justice under the law." Sotomayor may have changed her views since her college days, though her record obviously indicates consistency, but perhaps what's most striking is that on the issue of diversity, Obama seems to have the views of a 21-year-old Hispanic girl -- that is, only by having a black president, an Hispanic justice, a female secretary of State, and Bozo the Clown as vice president will the United States become a true "vanguard of societal ideas and changes."

[R C Dean]

I hate it when my predictions come true.

I was kinda hoping that Jennifer Grantholm would get the nod. That would help Michigan, at least, and then I could claim to be personally acquainted with two Justices (her and Breyer).

Next time, I guess. According to Obama's crude theory of justice by quota, we're still at least two women short on the Court.

[P Brooks]

Chicanos were the first natives of the Southwest.

Who's a racist, now?

[anon for this one!!!!]

Sotomayor: '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'...

Having gotten blowjobs from both, I must agree.

[R C Dean]

Yet we estimate that over 90 percent of the Princeton community knows nothing about either culture other than that we speak Spanish and that we are presently complaining about something.

You'd think that might prompt a little self-reflection.

[Warty]

Puerto Ricans don't even eat spicy food. What the fuck kind of Mexicans are they?

[Joel]

Chicanos were the first natives of the Southwest.

Boy, that'll wreck all the preconceived notions of the Anasazi, huh?

Stupid, smug Indians...

[PapayaSF]

Chicanos were the first natives of the Southwest.

That's the sort of clear-sighted, even-handed, historically-astute analysis we need on the Court!

[PapayaSF]

And check out what Richard Epstein says about her. If you hated the Kelo decision, just wait until you see her opinion in Didden v. Village of Port Chester.

[Gilbert Martin]

"What the fuck does he know about "rigorous intellect" or "mastery of law"?"

Ask the Chrylser bondholders (aka the "unpatriotic speculators") about Obama's mastery of bankruptcy law regarding senior secuured creditors vs unsecured creditors.

[johnl]

It is great to see John Juncal and Red Rock Dragons back in the news!