Should we have a Supreme Court justice who, in a speech at the University of California Berkeley, to law students, law professors, lawyers, and fellow judges, asserted 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." ?That, unlike the many non-racist statements that liberals accuse conservatives of making, is indeed racist. If a white male Supreme Court nominee said that white men make better decisions than Latina women, he'd never have been nominated. Neither should Judge Sotomayor.
When I saw Sotomayor's quote a few days ago, I wondered what the media might counter with. This quote is what's going around today:
ReplyDelete"[W]hen a case comes before me involving, let's say, someone who is an immigrant -- and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases -- I can't help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn't that long ago when they were in that position.
"And so it's my job to apply the law. It's not my job to change the law or to bend the law to achieve any result. But when I look at those cases, I have to say to myself, and I do say to myself, 'You know, this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time, and they were people who came to this country.' ...
"When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account."
Reportedly, Justice Samuel Alito said this during his confirmation hearings.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/27/sotomayor/
If justice is to be truly blind, then background should not be taken into account. The law and only the law should be applied in every case. The Alito quote should have raised questions when he said it.
And just because he said something like this should not diminish Sotomayor's quote or the speech from which it came. A judge is supposed to take into account what is fair and lawful. Personal politics should not play any part.
The Salon quote of Alito referred to a specific type of case--e.g., immigration. That makes some sense: Understanding a situation more fully makes more for a more just decision. In Sotomayor's case, she was saying, across the board that Latino women make better decisions than white males. Not only is that racist but classist--she's implying that poorer people (Latinos are poorer on average) make better decisions.
ReplyDeleteMarty:
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to mention the worst part of it. The part that she is talking about "inherent physiological differences”. Sounds like something from WW2.
I am attaching the link.
Thanks
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_12454492