Question of the Week
What Would You Have Asked Sotomayor at her Hearing?
Posted Jul 15, 2009 11:32 AM CST
By Sarah Randag
Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been center stage this week (perhaps you've caught our confirmation hearings coverage). On the day before the hearings, the New York Times asked some legal names—from former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (now a poli sci professor at Texas Tech University) to University of Wisconsin law professor and blogger Ann Althouse—what questions they wanted to ask Sotomayor.
From Gonzales: "Do you believe there is a difference between doing justice and applying the law?"
From Althouse: "When you said you hoped that 'a wise Latina' would make better judicial decisions, did you mean it as a pleasantry aimed at people who had invited you to speak about diversity or will you now defend the idea that decision-making on the Supreme Court is enhanced by an array of justices representing different backgrounds?"
At this point, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have had a go, and they have asked her about her reasoning in both Ricci v. DeStefano and Maloney v. Cuomo, whether she thinks she has "a temperament problem" and, of course, about the "wise Latina" remark.
And now we want to hear from you. What would you have asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge? Or what do you think has been a particularly good question put to her so far?
Answer in the comments below.
Read answers to last week's question: Do You Expect to Learn Anything from the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings?
Featured answer:
Posted by Bill:: "I wonder if the Senators will drone on for 10 minutes without actually asking any questions, like they did for Roberts and Alito. Chuck Schumer loves nothing so much as the sound of his own voice. At least we won’t have to listen to Biden going on and on and on and lecturing the nominee.
"Answer to the question 'do you expect to learn anything?' Not really."
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Comments
captain obvious
Jul 15, 2009 12:50 PM CST
“If you don’t beleive that a wise latino woman can make better decisions than a white male, then why did you say it multiple times on multiple occasions?”
“Why do you beleive that some of the bill or rights applies to states while other parts do not?”
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Abraham Ben Judea
Jul 16, 2009 7:21 AM CST
I have but two questions.
(1) Words change meanings over time, Mrs Sotomayor I have here a Johnson dictionary, I’ve Outlined the word INFRINGE, The Frase Shall not Be infringed is qouted in our constititution. What does the word iinfringed mean to you?
(2) do you believe that corporations are entitled to the same natural rights as a natural born person, considering that corporations, Can’t be sworn, hold elective office, Can’t vote or be arrested?
These are the two most important questions.
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TrialDog
Jul 17, 2009 6:04 AM CST
There was a recent case where the legal question turned on legislative intent - whether 2 sections of the law which had been interpreted consistently should still be interpreted consistently after one of them had been amended. There was no ideological aspect to the technical question - it was 2 ways of trying to divine what the legislative branch intended.
However, the vote on the question split exactly upon ideological lines, because the interpretation resulted in either expansion or restriction of a civil rights law.
Do you think that justices do bring their political ideology to the table to drive them to a result? And, if you do, do you think it is proper? And, will you do so?
(OK, that’s really 3 questions . . .)
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DenverJohn
Jul 17, 2009 6:40 AM CST
Judge Sotomayor, in your own words, please tell this Committee why, out of all the possible nominees, you think you were nominated.
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Jennifer
Jul 17, 2009 6:56 AM CST
Boxers or briefs?
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Kristin
Jul 17, 2009 7:16 AM CST
Why in the h*ll would you go to Alberto freakin’ Gonzalez and Ann “I actually hate all women” Althouse for answers to these questions? I mean, seriously, ABA? Gonzalez spent his tenure as AG using the Constitution as toilet paper, and Althouse is just a moron.
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Brian
Jul 17, 2009 8:16 AM CST
Justice Alito has spoken on many occasions about how his Italian-American heritage and his family’s experience as immigrants to this country have informed his judicial philosophy and made him a better judge. Do you have any idea why he wasn’t asked about this during his confirmation hearings?
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Statistics
Jul 17, 2009 8:29 AM CST
“Three years from now, we’ll all be able to determine with which other justice you vote most consistently. How do you predict that analysis will turn out?”
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LES
Jul 17, 2009 9:35 AM CST
You have been called a “bully” for your tough questioning from the bench. Do you believe that kind of scrutiny and labeling reflects gender bias and a double standard in how female judges are viewed as opposed to male judges?
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AndytheLawyer
Jul 17, 2009 10:43 AM CST
Dammit—jennifer beat me to the punch. But it’s more worthy of asking twice than any “wise Latina woman” nonsense.
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Sam Wehrung
Jul 17, 2009 11:45 AM CST
I remember her saying at one point that as a judge, she doesn’t make law. Absurd. I’d ask her whether she believes we live in a civil law jurisdiction or common law jurisdiction if she truly believes that. Thankfully, in this country, judges DO make law.
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June
Jul 17, 2009 12:53 PM CST
On May 28, 2009, an article in the National Law Journal by Marcia Coyle reported, “A major climate change lawsuit brought by eight states against five utilities has been pending decision for nearly three years before an appellate panel on which Sotomayor is the presiding judge. ” http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431040188&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=National Law Journal&pt=NLJ.com- Daily Headlines&cn=20090529NLJ&kw=In climate case, long delay by Sotomayor-led panel&slreturn=1
Did anyone ask her about that? If not, why not?
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Phil
Jul 17, 2009 3:37 PM CST
What did Mr. Ricci do that was wrong so that he should have been denied a promoation after scoring the highest on an exam that was vetted as being race neutral?
Does the righrt to be free from discriminattion with regard to the distribution of limited benefits (like promostions at a firehouse station) depend upon the race or color of the plaintiff?
IHow do square your decision in the Ricci case if your answer to the last question is NO?
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Beth Emery
Jul 17, 2009 3:45 PM CST
I would have asked the following:
Judge Sotomayor, during Justice Ginsburg’s confirmation hearings, she stated the following opinion during questioning on Supreme Court decisions concerning abortion:
“The decision whether or not to bear a child is
central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When Government controls
that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”
Do you agree or disagree with Justice Ginsburg’s statement? If you decline to answer, does this mean you believe Justice Ginsburg violated judicial ethic by stating her opinion? Did your Obama administration coaches instruct you to avoid answering?
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beach law
Jul 22, 2009 10:01 AM CST
In retrospect, do you think you wrongly decided any cases, and if so, which ones?
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William A. Wheatley
Jul 24, 2009 7:17 AM CST
Many have compared your “wise Latina” remarks with Jude Alito’s comments regarding how his ethnic background and his parents’ experience as immigrants have informed his judicial philosophy. If instead he had said “I would think that a wise Italian-American man, with the richness of his ethnic background and his parents’ experience as immigrants, would help me make render better decisions than a Latina woman,” would you consider that to be a sexist and/or racist remark? If you do, why was your “wise Latina” remark not sexist or racist?
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R
Jul 24, 2009 9:45 AM CST
Do you have your original birth certificate in a ziploc bag?
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KW
Jul 26, 2009 8:03 AM CST
When exactly, during a women’s pregnancy, does she lose her constituionally guarenteed rights?
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