Quote of the Day
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

May 26, 2009 · 9 comments

That was from Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in her Judge Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at the University of California Berkeley School of Law in 2001.

Now, go and read the Alternate Universe Quote of the Day to see how it would sound if John Roberts made a similarly racist quote.

Source: PunditandPundette.com



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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

rob May 26, 2009 at 9:23 am
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racist left wing bitch

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whataloadacrap08 May 26, 2009 at 12:28 pm
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Just think how much wisdom she would have if she were a gay, crippled, transsexual, retarded, non-English speaking, convicted criminal, uneducated latina woman from Africa. A libs dream come true!

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locust May 27, 2009 at 12:42 pm
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time for revolution is near, buy guns and ammo, no election is going to fix this nation.

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Mike May 27, 2009 at 5:39 pm
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Taken alone, yeah, this quote sounds racist. But it would have been more honest of you to post the entire argument that surrounds it. It doesn’t sound so racist then, but maybe that would have prevented you from raking mud.

Here’s a little more than just the soundbite you posted: http://www.seattlekarma.com/2009/05/27/is-obama%E2%80%99s-supreme-court-nominee-judge-sonia-sotomayor-racist/

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Administrator May 27, 2009 at 6:15 pm
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Mike, here’s the whole quote from the link you posted. Readers can decide if it changes anything.

“In our private conversations, Judge Cedarbaum has pointed out to me that seminal decisions in race and sex discrimination cases have come from Supreme Courts composed exclusively of white males. I agree that this is significant but I also choose to emphasize that the people who argued those cases before the Supreme Court which changed the legal landscape ultimately were largely people of color and women. I recall that Justice Thurgood Marshall, Judge Connie Baker Motley, the first black woman appointed to the federal bench, and others of the NAACP argued Brown v. Board of Education. Similarly, Justice Ginsburg, with other women attorneys, was instrumental in advocating and convincing the Court that equality of work required equality in terms and conditions of employment.

Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O’Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, 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.

Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society. Until 1972, no Supreme Court case ever upheld the claim of a woman in a gender discrimination case. I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. Many are so capable. As Judge Cedarbaum pointed out to me, nine white men on the Supreme Court in the past have done so on many occasions and on many issues including Brown.

However, to understand takes time and effort, something that not all people are willing to give. For others, their experiences limit their ability to understand the experiences of others. Other simply do not care. Hence, one must accept the proposition that a difference there will be by the presence of women and people of color on the bench. Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.”

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hardyhar May 28, 2009 at 10:32 am
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locust –

Sure, let me know how that works out for you, Mr. Jr. McVeigh.

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Nate June 3, 2009 at 2:04 pm
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Her comment is without a doubt “racist” in that it implies that a particular race would be better suited to judge someone than another race. Her comment also was “sexist” in that it implies that a person of a particular sex is better suited to judge someone. That said, it is very understandable as most people’s experiences and perspectives in their life are based at least in part on how they are treated as they progress through their life (and of course race/sex plays a very important part of that). So, though her views ARE “racist” and “sexist”, who are we to condemn her for telling the truth about how we all think, even when we try not to? I do however think that everyone who called her a racist was not that far off and the media should drop that and focus on the more important issue of whether she is a fit candidate for the Supreme Court.

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Kate June 11, 2009 at 12:50 pm
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Sotomayor’s comment was really more about her life experiences than her race or gender. Whether or not one’s gender, race, age, or religion causes one to make better or different decisions is debatable. But it’s quite obvious that one’s experiences play a part. Taken out of context, anything can sound bad. If someone wishes to criticize Sotomayor, they should concentrate on her record.

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