Justice Ginsburg Says She’s ‘Cheered’ by Sotomayor’s Nomination

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told judges at a federal appeals conference on Friday that she was “cheered” to hear that Sonia Sotomayor had been nominated to replace David H. Souter.

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times reports on Ginsburg’s comments, noting that it is unusual but “not unheard of” for justices to comment on nominees. The remarks, made at the annual conference of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, were carried on C-SPAN.

"As much as I will miss Justice Souter's company," Ginsburg said, "I was cheered by the next banner headline" on Sotomayor’s nomination.

"The nominee will bring to the Supreme Court, as she did to the district court and then the court of appeals, a wealth of experience in law and in life," Ginsburg said. "And I am so glad no longer to be the lone woman on the court."

The BLT says two justices commented on the nomination of Robert Bork before his nomination failed. Justice John Paul Stevens called Bork a "well-qualified candidate," and then-Justice Byron White said it would be "all right with me" if Bork was confirmed.

In other comments, Ginsburg:

• Said that 20 percent of the Supreme Court’s rulings this term were decided by 5-4 votes, and more would be issued before the end of the term.

• Said she was the swing justice in three cases this term.

• Said lawyers in the “fleeting expletives” case had been warned not to use the four-letter words at issue during oral arguments because some justices would find them “unseemly,” according to a separate report at The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. The court went on to uphold the power of the Federal Communications Commission to ban fleeting expletives in live broadcasts.