The roll-call vote has been taken and yesterday the United States Senate confirmed its 111th Supreme Court Justice.
Madam Justice Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn in tomorrow (in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court Building by Chief Justice John Roberts) as the nation’s first Latina Justice, making her only the third woman in U.S. history to be appointed to the High Court. She will take her place on the court for a special hearing set in September to hear a case on Campaign Finance, before the normal first Monday in October when the Court officially begins each new session.
The politics behind the Sotomayor nomination are complex. Only nine Republicans voted for her nomination. But, ironically, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina (who was an early skeptic and questioned her fairly vigorously during the hearings) and Senator Kitt Bond of Missouri, two tough conservatives, voted for her. However, the real “win” for the GOP (if there is one) is that it succeeded in drawing the battle lines for the next Obama nominee to the Court. Many judicial watchers and analysts suspect that Obama might possibly get to name as many as two or more Justices if he is elected to a second term.
If this is the case, then what the Republicans needed to do with the Sotomayor confirmation was draw sharp ideological and political lines around judicial philosophy. Interestingly, Judge Sotomayor drew more “no” votes than one of President George W. Bush’s nominees, John G. Roberts Jr., and fewer than the other, Samuel A. Alito, Jr. But all three confirmations proved far more polarizing than had been traditional for the Senate, including as recently as the two justices chosen by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
During Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings last month before the Judiciary Committee, even some Republicans said her record from 17 years as an appellate and trial judge fits within the legal mainstream. But in the end, more than three-quarters of the Senate’s 40 Republicans voted against her, characterizing her as biased—and wrong on three of her best-known rulings on constitutional matters (which at least one dealt with the issue of so-called “racial preferences” and affirmative action).
In the final analysis, Justice Sotomayor is an apt replacement for retiring Justice David Souter, who was appointed by Republican President George HW Bush (the same President who first appointed Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. District Court). She will be in the “mainstream” of votes cast by the Court, and I fully expect her to be the court’s new “Sandra Day O’Connor.” She’ll be that voice of reason and wisdom that carefully tips the balance on impending 5-4 decisions. Sometimes she will vote with the conservatives (Thomas, Scalia), and at other times she will vote with the more liberal Justices (Ginsberg, Stevens). This is a good thing for the Court and for our nation.
After all, I would expect no less from a wise Latina woman.
Sophia A. Nelson is a political and social commentator who writes for NPR, Huffington Post, and The Root.com. You can follow her blog at politicalintersectionblog.com.
Add New Comment
Viewing 6 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment
Trackbacks
(Trackback URL)