Potential Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor May Face Criticism For Comments On Gender, Ethnicity

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 18 May 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor -- whose is considered to be "near the top" of President Obama's list of potential Supreme Court nominees to replace retiring Justice David Souter -- could face criticism over a 2001 speech in which she stated that a judge's ethnicity and gender "may and will make a difference in our judging," the New York Times reports. According to the Times, Republicans have indicated that "they intend to put the eventual nominee under a microscope," and they have expressed concern that Obama's emphasis on judicial "empathy" suggests that he is seeking a judge who will promote liberal ideology. Some conservative commentators also have branded Sotomayor a "judicial activist" because of her remarks during a 2005 panel discussion for law students, when she said that a "court of appeals is where policy is made." However, Sotomayor also said that she is "not promoting" and "not advocating" that idea.

In her 2001 speech, delivered at the Judge Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at the University of California-Berkeley, Sotomayor questioned the notion that male and female judges would reach similar conclusions when deciding cases, though she also "sounded many cautionary notes," the Times reports. Sotomayor said, "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." Sotomayor also said that the increasing diversity in federal courts "will have an effect on the development of the law and on judging." She said that being a woman or a minority can affect a judge's perspective because of "experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences."

However, Sotomayor also said that women and minority groups do not all share a universal perspective and that she was not referring to any specific case. Although she said that she strives to question her own "opinions, sympathies and prejudices," and aspired to impartiality, she also asked whether achieving impartiality is "possible in all, or even in most, cases." Sotomayor said, "I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice to both the law and society?" She added, "Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see." Charles Ogletree, a Harvard Law School professor and adviser to Obama, said Sotomayor's remarks were appropriate because it is "obvious that people's life experiences will inform their judgments in life as lawyers and judges" (Savage, New York Times, 5/15).

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