Yesterday President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court. I'm more than a little troubled by this nomination. We seem to have lost sight of the job description of the Supreme Court. The Court's job is not to legislate, or make law, but to apply the law in different situations. Judge Sotomayor, however, has a history of saying things such as, "...the court of appeals is where policy is made." W-w-what?? This is the complete antithesis of the role of judges and courts. Judges must strive to be completely impartial, laying aside all personal agendas, and simply interpret the laws that are already in existence. Now I realize our country has come a LONG way from this, but how have we come so far that our President would choose someone who has such a bold-faced misunderstanding of their job description? Would you hire someone to work for your company who was under the impression that their role in working for you was the opposite of what it actually was? I think not.
Obama's self-proclaimed goal in his nomination was to find a judge who had empathy. Excuse me? Empathy is a wonderful thing, but it has no place on the bench. As already stated, a judge is to be impartial, administering justice according to the law, not operating out of their feelings and personal sentiments. Obama thought Judge Sotomayor would be a perfect candidate for a Supreme Court Justice, because her background would cause her to be empathetic. Well then make her a social worker, don't put her on the Supreme Court.
We need judges who will uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Let's hope the Senate will do their job in exploring this candidate's judicial philosophy during the confirmation hearings.
In other news, please excuse my long absence from the blogging world. I've been busy birthing my second baby and enjoying life as a wife and mother of two.
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3 comments:
Welcome back---you have been missed!!
Great post!
Not to mention that Sotomayor also said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
Kacey, good thoughts. The quote about legislating from the bench is scary and the thing Obama said about having empathy is also scary.
Kelley, I heard that thing about a white male not having lived that life, therefore would not be as qualified. I think its hilarious that its ok to be racist in our nation as long as its not against a minority. Reminds me of the same thing that was said at Obama's inauguration by the African American pastor. I forget his name now, but the older gentlemen who made the racist comment about white's.
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