Leading Obama Supreme Court Candidate:
Courts Make Policy (Video)
Morgen on May 3, 2009 at 2:18 am
U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor is considered a leading candidate for Obama’s nomination to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court. In fact, just last month ABC’s George Stephanopolous, who is close to the Administration, was apparently tipped off to an upcoming Court vacancy and touted Sotomayor as a near “lock” for the nomination.
Undoubtably, Administration officials and other political operatives are digging feverishly through past court cases and other background information on Sotomayor and the other candidates being vetted. I’ll leave the legal analysis of Sotomayor’s judicial track record for those more qualified to do so. It’s interesting though that she is being promoted by some pundits as a relatively moderate, bi-partisan choice for Obama given that she was initially appointed to the federal bench by George H.W. Bush.
I’m not so sure this is going to fly. I did a little digging of my own and found a video clip from 2005 where Judge Sotomayor had something very interesting to say about her view on the role of the judiciary. She was participating in a panel discussion at Duke University Law School and was responding to a question on the pros and cons of different types of judicial clerkships. Watch:
So she’s a judicial activist…I’m sure she is a moderate one though! Unbelievable. With a comment like this I only hope that conservatives have the last laugh if she gets the nomination.
Update: Full video clip from 2005 available here. The comment I highlighted comes just after the 43 minute mark…but by all means watch the full thing. I seem to have stirred up a mini-controversy amongst the conservative legal crowd with this. May I suggest that it is ultimately Judge Sotomayor’s job to explain the basis for prior statements she has made? Or is Sotomayor a candidate that conservatives should consider supporting? Please make this case directly if that is really what you think.
I think we risk becoming our own worst enemy when we go to such lengths to intellectually rationalize and justify statements made by our political adversaries. Personally I find the in-jokiness of the whole thing the most offensive. But hey, I guess I’m just a rube…clearly there is nothing wrong with a member of the federal court stating that their job is to make policy.
Scott Adds: I don’t know HOW Judge Sotomayer is going to explain her comments about the Court of Appeals not making law. OBVIOUSLY that is EXACTLY what she believes they should be doing:
“…Court of Appeals is where policy is made, and I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don’t MAKE law. I know…uhm…ok… I know, I know. I’m not promoting it and I’m not advocating it. I’m…you know…uhm…ok…uhm…”
Talk about a “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” moment. Everyone there KNEW what she meant. That’s why they were all laughing. What’s a “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” moment? Let’s have our friends at Monty Python give you an example:
Category: Politics |
[...] No one should be surprised that one of the judges on Obama’s short list to replace Souter said the following: (h/t Verum Serum) [...]
May 3, 2009 @ 12:11 pm[...] what kind of judge is she? Morgen, of the blog Verum Serum, found [...]
May 3, 2009 @ 1:23 pmSo all she did was make an (accurate) assessment of what happens in the Courts of Appeals. Where is the “unbelievable” part? We are a common-law country, and judges have to factor policy considerations in deciding close cases. Look at the recent conservative opinions in Fourth Amendment cases (Herring v. United States and Hudson v. Michigan) deciding that the exclusionary rule would not be justified as a policy matter for certain Fourth Amendment violations. That does not mean that they are just “making it up.” Please check with people who know what they are talking about (e.g., here: http://www.volokh.com/posts/1241381005.shtml) before making such silly “gotcha” calls.
May 3, 2009 @ 1:25 pmAnd then please check here with other people who know what they’re talking about.
May 3, 2009 @ 3:59 pm[...] Gabriel Malor and Verum Serum, I’m trying to muster some outrageous outrage but can’t pull it off. Of course courts [...]
May 3, 2009 @ 4:55 pm[...] No one should be surprised that one of the judges on Obama’s short list to replace Souter said the following: (h/t Verum Serum) [...]
May 3, 2009 @ 10:01 pmOf course they make “policy”. What do you think precedent is?
May 4, 2009 @ 6:22 am[...] the Court of Appeals level, policy is made. Allahpundit added the following: Via Gabriel Malor and Verum Serum, I’m trying to muster some outrageous outrage but can’t pull it off. Of course courts make [...]
May 4, 2009 @ 6:29 am[...] But no matter what is turned up about her temperament or skill, it will have to be balanced against this clip, which comes to you via Snaggletooth who got it from Ace of Spades HQ, who it came from the blog Verum Serum. [...]
May 4, 2009 @ 7:38 amGlad to see this making the rounds!
May 4, 2009 @ 4:12 pmI want to see how she worms her way out of this one.
May 4, 2009 @ 6:17 pm[...] Verum Serum SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title:’Sotomayor’s Candid Progressive Moment’, summary:’In the [...]
May 5, 2009 @ 6:08 am[...] what she meant. Thats why they were all laughing. Whats a wink, wink, nudge, nudge moment? Leading Obama Supreme Court Candidate: Courts Make Policy (Video) | Verum Serum You can almost hear her say: Quick!! Someone hit the delete button; I did not mean to say that [...]
May 5, 2009 @ 7:26 amSonta sounds like a sexist and racist, if she is to be judged by the same standards applied to our white males. I expected nothing less from the ObamaShow.
Expect the exact opposite use of tactics by Democrats than they used against Clarence Thomas. All opposition to Sonta will be declared a closet racism of sorts. Funny, since so-called hispanics come in the ‘white variety’ as well, just like others of European ancestry.
May 26, 2009 @ 6:58 am[...] gained when working at district courts and appeals courts. Her remarks caught the eye of conservative bloggers who accused her of being a “judicial activist,” although Jonathan H. Adler, a professor at Case [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 7:35 am[...] of our friends at Verum Serum, who have plenty more to say about Sonia Sotomayor. Not only do we have Sotomayor essentially [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 7:55 am[...] for starters, we know that she thinks it is the role of the appeals courts to make policy: Um, all of the legal defense funds out there, um, they’re looking for people out there with [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 8:36 amThe life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/cmnlw10.txt
May 26, 2009 @ 9:00 am[...] Forgive me if this is a radical notion, but should we not be less focused on her race and more focused on worrisome little gems like asserting the courts “make policy?” Video courtesy of Verum Serum: [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 9:26 am[...] Also, here are some more of Sonia Sotomayor’s “greatest hits” from HotAir.com. If that’s not convincing enough, you really need to read this article over on Verum Serum. [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 10:34 am[...] clip was surfaced by the blogger Morgen at Verum Serum earlier in the month, who concluded, “So she’s a judicial [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 12:15 pmI’m very happy that he picked her. She’s definitely liberal, and she’s only 54 years old. Those two things will drive you wingnuts absolutely crazy. She’s Hispanic and female, which means that there’s absolutely no way the Republicans are going to be able to defeat her nomination.
But I’m really hoping they’ll try to go after her hard, the cruder the better. Then they will lose twice, first for being the jerks we know they are, and second because she’s going to be confirmed anyway.
And you think liberals disapprove of torture! Ha ha ha!
May 26, 2009 @ 12:26 pm[...] via: Verum Serum addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.poliblogger.com%2F%3Fp%3D15880′; addthis_title = [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 12:29 pm[...] Serum’s May 3rd post discussed Obama’s SCOTUS pick, Sonia [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 4:05 pm[...] gained when working at district courts and appeals courts. Her remarks caught the eye of conservative bloggers who accused her of being a judicial activist, although Jonathan H. Adler, a professor at Case [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 4:33 pm[...] first and hopefully only nominee to the High Court is also a liberal. Sotomayor is a woman who believes the false notion that the Court’s role is to make law. She also believes that ethnic background and gender are somehow related to intelligence. [...]
May 26, 2009 @ 6:36 pm[...] Sotomayor was participating in a panel discussion at Duke University Law School, she said the following: “…Court of Appeals is where policy is made, and I know this is on tape and I should never [...]
June 1, 2009 @ 12:26 pm[...] the same report. Curious, he looked into the matter. The report apparently originated as a post on a conservative blog called verumserum, which not only did the TV channels’ work for them, [...]
February 28, 2010 @ 11:35 am