Who Gives a Shit if She's Latina?

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Today Obama announced his choice for the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor is a self described 'Newyorican' of Puerto Rican decent but raised in the burrough of Bronx, New York. She rose from poverty to attend the ivory halls of both Princeton and Yale Law School (for this I applaude her!). While attending Princeton it sounds like she developed a chip on her shoulder; "I have spent my years since Princeton, while at law school and in my various professional jobs, not feeling completely a part of the worlds I inhabit," she said, adding that that despite her accomplishments, “I am always looking over my shoulder wondering if I measure up.” [source: New York Times] In 1992 then President George Herbert Walker Bush appointed Sotomayor to district court. In 1997 President William Jefferson Clinton appointed Sotomayer to the U.S. appeals court which the Republican's blocked for close to a year before finally giving in to seat her on the appeals court.

Her most high-profile case involved New Haven’s decision to toss out tests used to evaluate candidates for promotion in the fire department because there were no minority candidates at the top of the list.

She was part of a panel that rejected the challenge brought by white firefighters who scored high but were denied promotion. Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff, argued that it was unfair he was denied promotion after he had studied intensively for the exam and even paid for special coaching to overcome his dyslexia.

The case produced a heated split in the Circuit Court and is now before the Supreme Court. [source: New York Times] Great, she'll get to hear the case again, I wonder how she'll rule?

I'm sure we would all agree the job of a Justice is to hear cases brought before the Court and to decide the case not based on "feelings" but rather the rule of law. You CAN NOT make policy from the bench nor should you. However, Sotomayer seem's to have a different take: [the]"court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know — I know this is on tape, and I should never say that because we don’t make law. I know. O.K. I know. I’m not promoting it. I’m not advocating it. I’m — you know.” [emphasis added]

In fact, she has other interesting quotes that once again are based on "feelings" rather then logic. For example, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life...”

I don't care if she is the first latina nominated to the Supreme Court, she has a racist line of thinking and she has proven by her own actions and words that she is willing to make policy from the bench and decide cases based on feelings rather then logic and rule of law.