Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Nominee: Is She a Judicial Activist? Is She Racist?

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President Barack Obama says Sonia Sotomayor, his nominee to the Supreme Court, is an outstanding choice. He says in his email yesterday afternoon, this is one of the most important decisions a President can make and he is certain that Ms. Sotomayor, "would show fidelity to our Constitution."

However, her record reflects something very different. It seems to indicate that she has a tendency toward judicial activism and is racist.

In a video from 2005 of a panel discussion with law students at Berkeley she said, a "court of appeals is where policy is made."

Policy is made in the courts? I thought policy was made by our elected officials in Congress.

She has also said, "Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see." President Obama told us during the campaign that he believed in a "living Constitution." This, of course, means that the Constitution is interpreted through the lens of a given philosophy at any given time. This woman seems to be a good fit.

Responding to a statement by Ruth Bader Ginsburg about a man and a woman arriving at the same conclusions, Sotomayer said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

In a recent case in New Jersey she ruled against the advancement of several fire fighters because they were white.

In 2001 she said that, ethnicity and sex of a judge, "May and will make a difference in our judging."

She has given a number of speeches on the importance of diversity. She has said the increasing diversity on the federal bench, "will have an effect on the development of the law and on judging."

Obama has said he wants a justice with "combined intellect and empathy."

Curt Levy, with the Committee for Justice, told Onenewsnow, "I actually thought he [Obama] was going to be smarter than that. I thought he would pick someone who was sort of closet judicial activist, not someone who can so easily be found on youtube joking with contempt about the fact that she makes policy as a judge."

She does not believe the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to individuals, in her book, she suggests that international law should be used in our courts sometimes and has contributed to Planned Parenthood.

This nomination may be more about the President than the nominee. One thing is certain. President Obama continues with his mission to "remake" America.