Tuesday, May 6, 2014

NYT Politics section: Sotomayor Finds Her Voice Among the Justices

I am a lawyer’s judge,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said last year. “I write very technically.”
That was true at the time. But something has changed in the current Supreme Court term. In opinions concerning human rights abuses, the death penalty and, most notably, affirmative action, Justice Sotomayor has found her voice.

“She’s setting a public agenda,” said Cristina Rodriguez, a law professor at Yale. “She’s looking for her moments. And her willingness to talk about how biography informs judgments challenges a lot of people’s notions about what the law is supposed to do.”
I thought the justices were supposed to be above politics.

10 comments:

The Dude said...

She is beneath contempt. Wise latina my ass.

Paddy O said...

I thought the law was supposed to interpret the Constitution, not biographies.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

She’s setting a public agenda

She is supposed to be determining the Constitutionality of laws. NOT setting an agenda. She isn't supposed to HAVE an agenda.

Unfortunately, there is no way (short of death) to get these partisan hacks off of the Supreme Court.

Karen of Texas said...

What DBQ said so eloquently... *sigh* Justices with an agenda... heaven help us.

edutcher said...

Setting?

It was set or she wouldn't be there.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Unfortunately, there is no way (short of death) to get these partisan hacks off of the Supreme Court.

I think term limits not only for Congress, but for government "workers" and, yes, the federal judiciary are long overdue.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

A diversity hire put in place by another diversity hire.

Neither are up to the responsibility of their positions.

This country is fucked.

Shouting Thomas said...

"Biography informs judgments" seems to mean that there is one law for the victim classes and one law for the non-victim classes.

Sultan Knish writes about that today.

Mitch H. said...

Translation: she hired a hot-shot phenom straight out of one of the Ivy law schools who has been doing her level new-minted lawdroid best to class up Sotomayor's opinions. Hmm, strike that, I'm going to go ahead and guess it's Charlotte Taylor, one of Sotomayor's 2013 law clerk hires. She has an English pHD as well as a law degree from NYU. That matches this "finding her voice" narrative, and Taylor's hire matches the time-frame.

William said...

Of course biography informs one's judgment.. My biography has informed me that my judgment is frequently wrong. Shouldn't she be looking for a sense of balance that transcends biography.......There are those whose biography informs their smugness, and others whose biography causes seething resentment. Resentment causes as much distortion in judgment as smugness......If you're a smug bastard in an important position, the world will tell you about it. If you're a resentful minority member in an important position the world will congratulate you on your passion. By world, I mean the NY Times.

bagoh20 said...

Godwin alert: Hitler had a biography too, and it informed his judgement.

So what? So now we are to understand that she has a chip on her shoulder? Oh goodie.