To no one’s surprise, President Obama has nominated an individual who supports his position of deciding cases based on who you are, rather than on the facts and the law. Although Sotomayor spoke strongly of the importance of the rule of law and principles of the Founding Fathers at her White House announcement, her previous decisions contradict this, as do the previous statements and promises of President Obama.
The President has stated he wants judges who have “empathy” for the poor, gays, and minorities. Commitment to judicial restraint and a respect for the Constitution weren’t even mentioned, during the campaign, as qualifications for Obama’s Supreme Court pick. Here’s the truth about Judge Sotomayor:
Sotomayor has a high rate of overturned court decisions, which shows that her legal reasoning is badly flawed.
Sotomayor admits that she applies her feelings and personal politics when deciding cases. In a 2002 speech at Berkeley, she said: “I would hope that 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.”
Judge Sotomayor fits the “empathy” qualification. She reiterated her commitment to that lawless judicial philosophy at Duke Law School in 2005 when she stated that the “Court of Appeals is where policy is made.” She has openly bragged that she views her role as a judge as a policymaker and activist who will impose her leftist political views on the rest of us.
She may have empathy for the poor, gays and minorities – but she is likely to ignore the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. Sotomayor is clearly the ideal nominee for President Obama but will be a disaster for our legal system.