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President Obama has nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as his first appointment to the court.
If confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, Judge Sotomayor, 54, would replace Justice David H. Souter to become the second woman on the court and only the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court. She also would be the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.
Conservative groups reacted with sharp criticism on Tuesday morning. “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,” said Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network…
Judge Sotomayor has sat for the last 11 years on the federal appeals bench in Manhattan. As the top federal appeals court in the nation’s commercial center, the court is known in particular for its expertise in corporate and securities law. For six years before that, she was a federal district judge in New York…
Born in the Bronx on June 23, 1954, she was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 8. Her father, a factory worker, died a year later. Her mother, a nurse at a methadone clinic, raised her daughter and a younger son on a modest salary.
Judge Sotomayor graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1976 and and attended Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She spent five years as a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office before entering private practice.
But she longed to return to public service, she said, inspired by the “Perry Mason” series she watched as a child. In 1992, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan recommended the politically centrist lawyer to President George H. W. Bush.
It’s not out of line that a traditional conservative Republican appointed her. Her life is a Horatio Alger story – the sort that inspired generations of Americans to aspire for a better life.
Previously approved by two bi-partisan efforts in Congress, no doubt the Party of “NO” will waste a couple of months on preaching their ideology, trying to stop her appointment to the bench.
Do Puerto Ricans need work visas? Visa waiver? How easy is it for them to enter the US?
Puerto Ricans are US Citizens.
He is shutting down successful Chrysler dealerships just because the owners are Republican donors.
So the president personally picked which dealerships get closed and which stay open? I thought Chrysler decided that themselves.
I was curious about this “Judicial Confirmation Network” mentioned in the article. Turns out they are hooked up with the Swift Boaters… http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Judicial_Confirmation_Network
# 28 Ralph, the Bus Driver said, “What? All 1800+ decisions?”
You are obviously a mental midget. If you had a brain how would you quickly eliminate the ones you don’t need to read to find the two I’m talking about?
Her New Haven decision is a crock. “What, no minorities scored high enough to be at the top of the promotion list? No promotions for ANYONE then!”
Yeah, that makes sense.
I love her quote too. “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”. Great, racist AND sexist.
A memo in the files of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee identified a reason for opposing Miguel Estrada as ‘he is Latino.’
I say this is a good pick because it is probably the payoff to Hispanic groups, and means there will be no amnesty.
Gee, Eidard, have you got any idea whatsoever what the substantive issues with this nominee are, or is the whole knee-jerk pseudo-analysis name-calling thing just so much fun you didn’t bother?
Or maybe you’re trying deliberately to make the issue here be Republicans instead of the nominee. Nahh- never try to explain with evil what can just as easily be explained with stupid.
1) She believes that judges make policy.
2) She believes that her gender and ethnicity are properly a part of her legal analysis.
She’s a fool for the above two reasons. Look ’em up.
It will only require a trivial effort, I promise.
I hope you can change enough to make that effort. Hopechange!
And dang, we in Michigan were so hoping to get rid of Granholm. Plus, she would have been the first Canuckistanian on the court.
Bob: cite (chapter and verse if necessary) or shut up.
1.) All of the legal defense funds out there, they are looking for people with court of appeals experience because 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. Okay, I know. I know. I’m not promoting it, I’m not advocating it. You know. (Laughter). – Taped from an AFF fundraiser. The video is everywhere.
2.)“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” — Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in her Judge Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law in 2001
# 38 Angus said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
Okay, I knew that she was low wattage, I didn’t know she was a psycho too.
I have to give it to the editors of dvorak.org/blog….they do a masterful job in creating titles that drive up page viewings. I mean regardless of your political leanings if you see that a Party “hates” someone, you’ll feel compelled to read and respond.
Act and react…well done guys! You guys would have made excellent partisan newspaper owners back in the days of Jackson.
Actually I was hoping for Hillary Clinton to get the Supreme Court nomination and Colin Powel to go back to Secretary of State.
I feel absolutely confident that no matter what Obama did with this nomination the GOP be negative about it. Even if Limbaugh himself was nominated at a special press event exclusively broadcast on the O’Reilly Factor and every one got drunk playing that O’Reilly drinking game where you have to do a shot every time Bill says UnAmerican and he was driven to Court in a government Hummer with a Nuke the Gay Unborn Whales bumper sticker on it. Ya that would be the Republicans best day ever but they still would find it in there hearts to be negative Obama. The party of fear and hate knows no contentment.
She will be fine Judge and after Fraknen is seated all they can do is cry Obama went with a highly regarded centrist they should be thankful.
#32, Cow-Patty,
So you’ve been shown up again. Caught in another piece of bullshit.
Bob, & Angus,
Would you guys give some links to your crap. Otherwise it is just more bullshit.
Oh right !!! Assholes don’t have to back it up, they just make it up.
OMG DVORAK DRIVING UP PAGE VIEWS WITH HEADLINES?! U S’POSED TO BE UNBIASED NEWS!
Mr. Fusion, I totally understand you. You’re trying to make me cite a constravtive blog, and use the source to defame the comments. Is the New York Time good enough for you?
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/sonia_sotomayor/index.html?inline=nyt-per
Here is a quote from her speech today. “First and foremost is a rigorous intellect — a mastery of the law, an ability to hone in on the key issues and provide clear answers to complex legal questions. Second is a recognition of the limits of the judicial role, an understanding that a judge’s job is to interpret, not make, law; to approach decisions without any particular ideology or agenda, but rather a commitment to impartial justice; a respect for precedent and a determination to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand.”
THIS quote I like. A lot. I just hope it’s not obfuscation.
EDIT. Sorry. Those were Obama’s words, not hers.
#44 haha…yah I know, amazing isn’t it? I see from your all caps reply that it’s a stunner 😉
Have there been any courts more “activist” than the Rehnquist and Roberts courts?
Has there been a single supreme court decision more “activist” — more usurping of a State’s right to conduct its own election — than Bush v. Gore? Ever?
Question for conservatives:
Would it be possible for Obama to appoint a non-white person to the bench without it being “reverse-discrimination”?
Would it be possible for any non-white person to achieve the presidency without it being a case of “affirmative action”?
According to conservative logic, no non-white could ever legitimately occupy a seat of power. They will always-already be “affirmative action” cases and the consequence of “reverse discrimination”.
#52 – I think you know the answer to your question. It is not about their ethnicity, it is about whether they are the best person for the job. Both Bush and Obama selected people for political reasons based on things race, sex, etc. Look at where it got McCain. Even NPR was talking about how this was a politically good decision that would make certain minority groups happy.
So the logic is pretty simple – it shouldn’t matter what your skin color is as long as you are the best person for the job. Pretty simple logic really. Sorry if it is too hard for you to understand.
# 53 aslightlycrankygeek said, “So the logic is pretty simple – it shouldn’t matter what your skin color is as long as you are the best person for the job. Pretty simple logic really. Sorry if it is too hard for you to understand.”
Presidents should look at applicants record with even knowing the name or gender. That would be ideal.
#54…I agree, but presidents are still politicians. And I willing to wager that the three of us…53, 54, me, are all white guys.
# 55 Olo Baggins of Bywater said, “I willing to wager that the three of us…53, 54, me, are all white guys.”
You just lost…
“There should be trigger that kicks in whenever a meaning to a word is inserted that didn’t exist there when the founders wrote the constitution…no more judge for life.”
Uh… you realize you’ve just contradicted yourself right?
The Constitution is silent on the *length* of the term of a member of an Article III judge. So the statement “no more judge [sic] for life” is “a meaning to a word […] inserted that didn’t exist [in the Constitution] when the founders wrote [it].”
For a person who continues to hold the Constitution at such a high esteem, you should probably take a peek at it. It’s not really all that long. I’ll even link it for you:
http://usconstitution.net/const.html
And Wikipedia has some good articles on it as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States
# 55 Olo Baggins of Bywater said, “I willing to wager that the three of us…53, 54, me, are all white guys.”
Don’t feel bad, you were at least 67% correct.
But seriously, I don’t even mind if people aren’t the best candidate for the job as long as they are decently competent. I understand there are other factors in the real world, and it is not the end of the world if the most qualified person does not always get hired.
I just think that if I were a minority I would feel insulted that a politician was trying to pander to me by giving me someone the same color as me a position for political reasons. After hearing some of her racist-sounding statements, she certainly doesn’t seem to be even decently competent at being fair or impartial. At least no enough to be the highest judge in the nation.
#56–Alfie==that is so racist, no need to “reverse it.” So outrageous and stupid AND non-judicial in temperament and philosophy, I had to google it for accuracy.
Sadly its true.
Now, its common to become a bit of an advocate of various stripes when giving public speeches==but after saying something so ANTI-JUDICIAL, indeed, her judicial logic should be given a closer look than otherwise more sober jurists.
Politics in politics is bad enough, must it corrupt the law as well?
#60 Unfortunately both sides engage in this when all we want is someone who understands law & the constitution… Sad.
is that a young roseanne barr?
# 42 Mr. Fusion
Did you get around to reading the constitution yet, as I suggested?