The Frontrunner For The Supremes

Within moments of the news that Justice David Souter is retiring the pundits started throwing around possible replacements. The frontrunner appears to be an Hispanic woman, Sonia Sotomayor. Conservatives are already circulating some information about her:

-Judge Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court would be very concerning given her hard-left record on the Court of Appeals, where she is recognized by practitioners as one of the more liberal judges.

-Judge Sotomayor’s personal views may cloud her jurisprudence. As Judge Sotomayor explained in a 2002 speech at Berkeley, she believes it is appropriate for a judge to consider their “experiences as women and people of color” in their decision making, which she believes should “affect our decisions.”

-Only just recently, in Ricci v. DeStefano, Judge Sotomayor was chastised by fellow Clinton-appointee Jose Cabranes for going to extraordinary lengths to dispense with claims of unfair treatment raised by firefighters. Judge Sotomayor’s panel heard a case raising important questions under Title VII and equal protection law, but attempted to dispose of the firefighter’s arguments in a summary order, until called out by Judge Cabranes. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.

-Substantial questions also persist regarding Judge Sotomayor’s temperament and disposition to be a Supreme Court justice. Lawyers who have appeared before her have described her as a “bully” who “does not have a very good temperament” and who “abuses lawyers” with “inappropriate outbursts.”

It sounds like she's the classic liberal judge, someone who doesn't let the law stand in the way of her feelings and politics. She would also be the first Hispanic on the court which makes opposing her all the more treacherous for the GOP. They're already in trouble with Hispanics over immigration.

If she is chosen the talking point will be "Hispanic woman". There will be little attention drawn to her temperament or her personal opinion-based rulings. Too bad she isn't gay or that would be a real trifecta.

It's too bad the Supreme Court nomination process is more about checking off certain racial/ethnic/gender boxes rather than just picking the best person available for the job. Of course, there's a good chance that the best person for the job wouldn't want to submit themselves to the media anal exam that's sure to follow their nomination. There are probably a lot of good candidates who just won't put themselves through the process.