There appears to be some differing opinions on the left as to whether Sonia Sotomayor is an appropriate pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. Jonathan Turley, the George Washington University law professor who is a frequent guest on Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow’s shows, says she shown a “lack of intellectual depth in her past opinions” and that she is not likely to have “a lasting intellectual influence on the Court.” That, he told David Gregory on MSNBC, should be a chief criteria for liberals, because of the need for a counterweight to Justice Antonin Scalia:
John Nichols of The Nation, however, was much more impressed:
While much will be made of the fact that Obama has chosen a woman of Puerto Rican background to serve on a court that until the 1960s was made up entirely of white man, the president has, as well, chosen a jurist whose specific experience will make her a key player on a court that, in coming years, will be taking on more and more cases involving financial and economic issues.
Judge Sotomayor’s 11 years of service on the federal appeals bench (as an appointee of Bill Clinton) have been served just a few blocks from Wall Street in Manhattan, as were her six years as a federal judge (as an appointee of George H.W. Bush as the recommendation of former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan).
“As the top federal appeals court in the nation’s commercial center,” the New York Times notes, “the court is known in particular for its expertise in corporate and securities law.”
Cristina Lopez of the National Hispana Leadership Institute (www.nhli.org) offers a more general rationale for choosing a Latina, though not necessarily Sotomayor, saying it would bring “new and valuable perspectives to the high court,” especially on issues that have divided the court and that “are important to Latinas, including reproductive rights, affirmative action, employment discrimination, health care access, voting rights and education.”
The appointment of a Latina justice would signal a movement toward full membership for Hispanics and women in American society.
OpenLeft’s Chris Bower, however, may have hit the nail on the head:
The negative reaction from conservatives on Sotomayor is the best indication that her nomination is a good thing for progressives.
