The Public Record
Sonia Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, having been nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is the first Hispanic and Latina member of the Court. Sotomayor previously served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and as a district court judge for the Southern District of New York. Her judicial philosophy often emphasizes the importance of empathy and the impact of the law on the lives of individuals, particularly marginalized communities.
In Korematsu the Court gave a pass to an odious, gravely injurious racial classification authored by an Executive order and basically the Court invoked an ill-defined national security threat to justify an exclusionary policy in sweeping…
To cast serious doubt on longstanding precedent is a step we historically take only with the greatest caution and reticence.
What you want is for us to tell you how, as a judicial nominee, we are going to rule on the important issues you find vexing. Any self-respecting judge who comes in with an agenda that would permit that judge to tell you how they will vote…
In addition to being near instant, death by shooting may also be comparatively painless.
Oh, I know it can change. Don't worry it might change. It will change.
My mom worked six days a week most of her adult life to be able to afford to come here. And if it hadn't been for the generosity of the church, we would not have been able to afford this.
Doubtful. Would I and my brother and I have been able to resist the war of drugs in the surrounding schools? Who knows.
It was heartbreaking. I can't even tell you. It's like closing not just a chapter in my life, but slamming a door on an entire history, not just my history, but the countless students who have gone through these halls.
I would bring bias and a liberal agenda to her seat as the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court.
Sotomayor insisted repeatedly that she would be impartial if confirmed.
Many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. Simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make law. It is to apply the law.
A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.
I have often said that I am all I am because of her, and I am only half the woman she is.
I stand on the shoulders of countless people, yet there is one extraordinary person who is my life aspiration. That person is my mother, Celina Sotomayor.
A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.
Court of Appeals is where policy is made. And I know -- and I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don't make law, I know -- ok.
I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
I stand on the shoulders of countless people. Yet there is one extraordinary person who is my life aspiration. That person is my mother, Celina Sotomayor.
No federal agent can conspire with people to torture another human being. Isn't that what you're saying?
Arbitrary and subjective considerations, such as a judge's feelings about a particular type of crime, should not form the basis of the sentence.
Politicians like Sonia Sotomayor
