sotomayor quote
In our private conversations, Judge Cedarbaum has pointed out to me that seminal decisions in race and sex discrimination cases have come from Supreme Courts composed exclusively of white males. [1]
Until 1972, no Supreme Court case ever upheld the claim of a woman in a gender discrimination case. [2]
Oh, so it’s okay if Sotomayor thinks that her race and gender make her a superior judge in certain cases. [3]
The imbeciles and hatemongers who have eagerly lined up against the judge do wonders for her credibility. [4]
I agree that this is significant but I also choose to emphasize that the people who argued those cases before the Supreme Court which changed the legal landscape ultimately were largely people of color and women. [1]
I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. [2]
Considering 5 out of 6 of her decisions that got to the Supreme Court were overturned, I’m not sure she has an understanding of the Constitution going for her. [4]
As Media Matters for America has noted, former Bush Justice Department lawyer John Yoo has similarly stressed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “is a black man with a much greater range of personal experience than most of the upper-class liberals who take potshots at him” and argued that Thomas’ work on the court has been influenced by his understanding of the less fortunate acquired through personal experience. [3]
Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. [2]
I recall that Justice Thurgood Marshall, Judge Connie Baker Motley, the first black woman appointed to the federal bench, and others of the NAACP argued Brown v. [...] Second, 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. [...] Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. [1]
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 at 10:31 am and is filed under Courts and the Judiciary, Feminism and Law, The Underrepresentation of Women. [...] Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society. [2]
“… 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.” [3]
Sources:
[1] The actual sotomayor quote, | News Forums - Current Affairs | STLtoday
[2] That Sotomayor Quote ” Feminist Law Professors
[3] Media Matters Takes On Sotomayor Quote | QandO
[4] The actual sotomayor quote, | News Forums - Current Affairs | STLtoday