Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate on Thursday that the White House never questioned her about cases or issues she might have to decide as a Supreme Court justice, a disclosure gleaned from reams of documents that reveal she has spoken repeatedly about how her gender and Latina heritage affect her judging.
The federal appeals court judge divulged new details about her finances and provided three decades of writings, speeches and rulings that give both supporters and critics fresh fodder for the coming debate on her confirmation. They include more instances in which she said she hopes a "wise Latina" would reach a better decision than a man without that experience.
The comments in 2002 and 2003 echo a much-criticized remark she made in 2001 at the University of California-Berkeley law school that has prompted a furor among conservatives who say they suggest President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court nominee brings a personal bias to her legal decisions.
Technorati tags:
law 
legal 
SCOTUS 
democrats 
Barack Obama 
Obama 
Politics
The "wisdom of a Latina" bit brings to mind a large decal I saw on the rear window of an SUV: "Proud to be Latina."
ReplyDeleteAn equivalent decal for me, in my own language: "Proud to be a white American woman." I would feel ridiculous, driving around with that on my car. I would also feel like I was being "in-your-face" about my race -- ummm, my ethnic background, or whatever.
But seriously. Why does Sotomayor's background make her any wiser than your background makes you? We all have our backgrounds that affect how we see and interpret the world.
Justice is supposed to be above cultural bias. What arrogance the woman has!