This post will be updated through the day.
AP: President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as “an inspiring woman” with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.
Background Information
White House: Background on Sotomayor
Wikipedia Entry: Sonia Sotomayor
NY Times: “A Judge’s View of Judging Is on the Record”
“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.
Legal Commentators
SCOTUS Blog: The Dynamic of the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor
Ilya Somin writing at the Volokh Conspiracy:
“I am not yet sure what position to take on President Obama’s selection of Sonia Sotomayor. My general sense is that she is very liberal, and thus likely to take what I consider to be mistaken positions on many major constitutional law issues. I am also not favorably impressed with her notorious statement 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.’ Not only is it objectionable in and of itself, it also suggests that Sotomayor is a committed believer in the identity politics school of left-wing thought. Worse, it implies that she believes that it is legitimate for judges to base decisions in part based on their ethnic or racial origins.”
Religion Clause Blog: Sotomayor Is High Court Pick; Here Are Her Religion Decisions
Reports and Commentaries
Jeffrey Rosen writing at the New Republic: The Case Against Sotomayor: Indictments of Obama’s front-runner to replace Souter.
“Most are Democrats and all of them want President Obama to appoint a judicial star of the highest intellectual caliber who has the potential to change the direction of the court. Nearly all of them acknowledged that Sotomayor is a presumptive front-runner, but nearly none of them raved about her. They expressed questions about her temperament, her judicial craftsmanship, and most of all, her ability to provide an intellectual counterweight to the conservative justices, as well as a clear liberal alternative.”
The most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer, was “not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench,” as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it.”
LifeNews: President Obama Picks Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court
“Sotomayor will likely draw opposition from pro-life groups, although her limited record on abortion may not be enough for strong opposition from Republican lawmakers or to earn her a filibuster in the Senate.”
Fox News Video on YouTube: Karl Rove on Sotomayor
She could be even more liberal than Justice Souter was. She has been on the Court of Appeals and been very liberal.
Fox News Video on Townhall: Krauthammer: Opposition to Sotomayor Pick Will Hinge on Connecticut Firefighters Decision
Townhall Supreme Court Watch Blog: Roundup from various sources
Conservative Groups
Americans United for Life:
“Our surveys of her opinions put her in essentially the same ideological position as Justice Souter.”
or all the President’s talk of finding ‘common ground,’ this appointment completely contradicts that hollow promise. Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy undermines common ground. She is a radical pick that divides America. She believes the role of the Court is to set policy which is exactly the philosophy that led to the Supreme Court turning into the ‘National Abortion Control Board,’ denying the American people the right to be heard on this critical issue. This appointment would provide a pedestal for an avowed judicial activist to impose her personal policy and beliefs onto others from the bench, at a time when the Courts are at a crossroad and critical abortion regulations – supported by the vast majority of Americans – like partial-birth abortion and informed consent laws lie in the balance.
ACLJ: Obama’s Supreme Court Choice
Liberty Counsel: President Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court
“Some have described her temperament on the bench as a ‘bully’ and ‘abusive’ to lawyers.”
FRC Action: Sotomayor: A Policy Maker or a Jurist?
Left Wing Groups
NOW Cheers President Obama’s Reported Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court
