Oops. Rick Perry Criticizes 'Activist Judge' Sotomayor, But Forgets Her Name
Rick Perry criticized the U.S. Supreme Court during a meeting Friday with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register.
But he didn’t appear entirely clear on the concept, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Republican presidential candidate talked about “eight unelected and, frankly, unaccountable judges,” apparently not realizing that there are nine justices on the nation’s top court.
He also criticized Justice Sonia Sotomayor as an “activist judge,” but couldn’t remember her name.
Later, Perry’s campaign said his mention of eight judges was a reference to the 8-1 vote striking down school-sponsored Bible reading in the 1963 case Abington School District v. Schempp. He defended the Sotomayor mispronunciation in an interview with Fox News Sunday, according to Politico and the Des Moines Register.
“The fact is, I don’t have memorized all of the Supreme Court judges,” he said. The American people “aren’t looking for a robot that can spit out the name of every Supreme Court justice or someone that’s going to be perfect in every way. They’re looking for somebody who’s got values.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “GOP Contenders Campaign Against the Federal Judiciary; One Candidate Wants to Ax the 9th Circuit”
