Judge Sotomayor

Today is Day 4 of the Sotomayor hearings. For those of you who are lost....Sotomayor is the Supreme Court nominee appointed by Pres. Obama to replace Justice David Souter. Now I will admit I have not been watching every minute of the hearings but this is still something that I feel should be addressed. Sotomayor has an extraordinary background (there is no denying that). She is of Puerta Rican descent, raised by her mother and lived in the Bronx. Her father died when she was 9, he only had a third grade education. She graduated from Princeton and then Yale Law School. It is no stretch of the imagination that Sotomayor did not live a "privileged" lifestyle and her rich experiences I am sure is part of the attraction for Pres. Obama not to mention her ethnic background or minority status. Again, I do highly recommend that everyone take a few minutes to look over a biography of her. I know it has not been happening lately with our government but the United States Constitution is the foundation of this country and it is the job of the courts system more specifically the Supreme Court to uphold the laws set forth in that Constitution. Before I bring up the two points I want to discuss in great detail, I also want to recommend maybe taking a few minutes to look over the hearings. Sotomayor has been coached very well and has been purposely avoiding controversial questions such as where she stands on "abortion" and "gun rights" is simply responding with "it is my job to look over all the facts of the case....yada yada" basically not answering any direct questions on where she stands on issues that Americans care about most.

**I also do realize that this whole post is basically a waste since she is going to be confirmed regardless since both Houses hold a Democratic majority. Unless she does something ridiculous or says something just insane. When I say insane I mean something like ex. I support terrorism and 9/11 or that child molestors should be able to freely adopt etc.

Two Controversial Topics the Media has Been Focusing On....

**During Sotomayors ten year stay in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

1. Employment Discrimination Case-Ricci v. DeStefano
This case was about the City of New Haven's request to throw out a test for its firefighters (a test for a promotion) and start over with a new test, because the City believed that this had a "disparate impact" on minority firefighers. The City was concerned that minority firefighters would sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Several white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter who passed the test sued the City, claiming their rights were violated. The panel that heard the case (which included Sotomayor) issued a brief (unsigned) affirming the lower court's ruling. Upon objection by a fellow judge Sotomayor voted with a 7-6 majority not to rehear the case. The case went to the Supreme Court in 2009 the previous panels ruling (which Sotomayor was on) was overruled 5-4, the white firefighters were found to be victims of racial discrimination when they were denied promotion.

This case bothers me. It appears to me to be a case of "reverse discrimination." If minority firefighters feel that the test given by the city had a "disparate impact" on their ability to be promoted than thats a legitimate concern. Obviously this brings up the concern of affirmative action, the "quota of diversification" that government jobs/or public jobs hold as opposed to merit based hiring or promoting. This is upsetting in itself. But then to not offer the same type of consideration when other firefighters have a legitimate claim that they are having no problems with the test is wrong. Granted that in the Circuit of Appeals ruling and in the Supreme Court's ruling it was close (separated by one) it still does not discount the fact that the Circuit Court was overruled by the Supreme Court and the ruling was one of discrimination.

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," Sonia Sotomayor October 26, 2001.

This comment has been the focalpoint of the confirmation hearing. It is important to note that this comment was stated 8 years ago at the same time is there not a grain of truth behind every joke and every lie? Otherwise...what is your motivation to say it? When I first read this I saw "that Latina woman or just Latinos make better judges than White men." Obviously this is inherently racist. Once I read it over a few times and thought about it I came to the conclusion that Sotomayor (at least trying to give her the benefit of the doubt) probably was trying to say that she hopes that someone with her vast experience could reach a more objective view than someone who hadn't had those same experiences. What is hurting her in this statement are the words "Latina", "woman", "white", "male" and "wise." Her statement is ironic since her job as a Supreme Court Justice is to interpret and uphold the constitution that was written by "wise white males" this country's forefathers.

The bottom line.
Do I think Sonia Sotomayor is racist? Maybe, maybe not. Do I think she is biased because of her "richness" in experience and personal background? Maybe. I think that the two examples I mentioned above are defnitely not helping her image as an objective party. I guess what frustrates me about this whole thing is that I feel this nation is becoming more and more polarized. Since the election of Barack Obama the amount of hate groups in this country has significantly risen. Please believe I am not saying that Obama being the first black man to hold the most powerful position in the world, aka our President is not an accomplishment, it is. At the same time I think the fact that this country made such a huge deal about it, that it was seen as a breakthrough for African Americans in this country, the "rise against the oppression of the white man" is excessive. If African Americans in this country really feel that way than we have bigger problems. Maybe I just don't see race the same as everyone else? I believe that everyone is inherently racist in some degree but I can honestly say that I use someone's ethnic distribution or race simply as a description of their physical characteristics same thing as "he has brown hair" or "she has blue eyes" nothing more and nothing less. Of course the argument can be well your white, so of course your not going to see things that way. I think that is a really ignorant comment considering if you look around whites are a minority, especially in California! I think this country has come along way when it comes to tolerance and I don't think this has been acknowledged. We are one of the few countries in this world that is a total melting pot. There are ethnic wars breaking out all around the world, somehow we have maintained peace domestically...does this not count for something? I feel that when the media, politicians, actors/actresses or everyday citizens make a huge effort to make distinctions of people based on race this only promotes the sense of polarization and discrimination in this country. We are supposed to be united, how are we to uphold any sense of nationalism if we are busy worrying about what race everyone is?

Sotomayor Learned the Ropes

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/16/sotomayor.district.attorney/index.html

Sotomayor Pushing Back Hard on Racial Bias

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090714/ap_on_go_su_co/us_sotomayor_senate

Sonia Sotomayor Bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor

Sotomayor Sidesteps on Abortion, Guns in Grilling

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090715/ap_on_go_su_co/us_sotomayor_senate