Sotomayor Would Replace Retiring Justice David Souter
According to AP, Obama has said that “he wanted a justice who combined intellect and empathy—the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans.”
The U.S. Senate will have four months in which to complete the confirmation process before the start of the next Court term in October. According to SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein, Sotomayor’s confirmation is almost certain, “[a]bsent the discovery of an ethical transgression.” Goldstein also highlights the significance of Sotomayor’s nomination as a “historic landmark” for the Hispanic community, which he identifies as “a vital electoral group now and in the future.”
Background: Who is Sonia Sotomayor?
Sotomayor’s desire to be judge sprouted during her childhood, inspired by Nancy Drew novels and the TV show “Perry Mason.” "I was going to college and I was going to become an attorney, and I knew that when I was 10," Sotomayor told the Daily News in a 1998 interview. "Ten. That’s no jest."
Sotomayor completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, and graduated with great distinction from Yale Law School. She then spent seven years working in public service, both as a prosecutor and private attorney. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed Sotomayor as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, and in 1997, President Bill Clinton chose her as judge for the Court of Appeals, AP reports.
Similarly, The New York Times political blog “The Caucus” reports that conservative groups have reacted to Obama’s decision ”with sharp criticism.” Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, is quoted as saying that “Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written.”
Political commentator Jeffrey Rosen published a critique in The New Republic in which he elaborated on concerns about Sotomayor’s “temperament, her judicial craftsmanship and … her ability to provide an intellectual counterweight to the conservative justices, as well as a clear liberal alternative.”
Still, the strong Democratic majority in the Senate makes Sotomayor’s nomination a likely case for approval. According to Tom Goldstein, “the White House’s biggest task is simply demonstrating that Judge Sotomayor is the most qualified candidate, not a choice based on her gender and ethnicity.”
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