Obama nominates Sonia Sotomayor to US Supreme Court

President Obama has just released the name of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nomination for the Supreme court. This was expected by many and many have predicted this Judge Sotomayor would be the choice. If Judge Sotomayor is confirmed to the Supreme Court then she will be the first Latino to be appointed to the highest court in the land.

Sonia Sotomayor Bio

Sonia Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954) is a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter. Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent, and was born in the Bronx. Her father died when she was eight, and she was raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with a B.A. from Princeton in 1976, and received her J.D. from Yale in 1979. She worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York for a time before entering private practice in 1984. Considered a political centrist, Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed in 1992.

Sotomayor has ruled on two high profile cases. In 1995, she issued the preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball which ended the 1994 Baseball Strike. Sotomayor made a ruling allowing the Wall Street Journal to publish Vince Foster’s suicide note. In 1997, she was nominated by Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After more than a year, she was confirmed and joined the court in 1998. Sotomayor was an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law from 1998 to 2007 and has been a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School since 1999.

Prior to her selection by Obama, Sotomayor had been considered by both Democrat and Republican presidents as a Supreme Court candidate. In 2005, Senate Democrats suggested Sotomayor as a nominee to George W. Bush, who eventually selected Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Prior to Souter’s retirement announcement, there was speculation that Sotomayor was a potential nominee. After Souter’s retirement announcement was leaked to the press, Sotomayor received attention as a possible nominee, and in May 2009 reports had Sotomayor on a shortlist of possible nominees. On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sotomayor to the court. If confirmed, she would be the court’s first latina justice (and the second Ibero-American justice, after Benjamin N. Cardozo).

Early life and family

Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx, a short walk from Yankee Stadium. She was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age eight. Her father, a tool-and-die worker with a third-grade education, died the following year. Her mother, Celina Sotomayor, a nurse, raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, Juan Sotomayor, who is now a doctor. Sotomayor has credited her mother as being her "life aspiration". In 1976, Sotomayor married while a student at Princeton University. She and her husband divorced in 1983; they did not have children.

Education and early legal career

Sotomayor graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. She earned her A.B. from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude in 1976.[9] Sotomayor obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Sotomayor then served as an Assistant District Attorney under prominent New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, prosecuting robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality, and child pornography cases. In 1984, she entered private practice, making partner at the commercial litigation firm of Pavia & Harcourt, where she specialized in intellectual property litigation.

Federal judicial service

Considered a political centrist by the American Bar Association Journal and others Sotomayor was nominated on November 27, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by John M. Walker, Jr. She became the youngest judge in the Southern District and the first Hispanic federal judge anywhere in New York State.

It is the longstanding practice in most states, including New York, for home-state senators of both parties to play roles in recommending individuals for federal District Court judgeships. Sotomayor was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1992, and received her commission the next day.

On March 30, 1995, she issued the preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball, preventing MLB from unilaterally implementing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and using replacement players, thus ending the 1994 baseball strike. In another high-profile case, she issued an order allowing the Wall Street Journal to publish Vince Foster’s suicide note.

Confirmation as Court of Appeals Judge

On June 25, 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the seat she now holds, which was vacated by J. Daniel Mahoney. Her nomination was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but became "embroiled in the sometimes tortured judicial politics of the Senate," as some Republicans said they did not want to consider the nomination because elevating Sotomayor to the Appeals Court would enhance her prospects of being appointed to the Supreme Court. An anonymous senator put a secret hold on her nomination, blocking it for over a year. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy called the length of the hold "disturbing," "petty," and "shameful," also noting that at that time, " of the 10 judicial nominees whose nominations have been pending the longest before the Senate, eight are women and racial or ethnic minority candidates."

In 1998, several Hispanic organizations organized a petition drive in New York State, generating hundreds of signatures from New Yorkers to try to convince New York Republican Senator Al D’Amato to push the Senate leadership to bring Sotomayor’s nomination to a vote. Her nomination had been pending for over a year when Majority Leader Trent Lott scheduled the vote. Many Republicans, including then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and six other Republicans who are still in the Senate today, voted for Sotomayor’s confirmation to the Second Circuit. With solid Democratic support, and support from about half of Republicans, Sotomayor was confirmed on October 2, 1998, in a 67-29 vote, and she received her commission on October 7.

Awards and honors

Sotomayor has received honorary degrees from Lehman College, Princeton University, Brooklyn Law School, Pace University School of Law, Hofstra University, and Northeastern University. She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2002.

Other activities

While in private practice, Sotomayor was appointed in 1988 as one of the founding members of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, where she served for four years. She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the foundation then known as the Maternity Center Association (now called Childbirth Connection).

Sotomayor was an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law from 1998 to 2007 and has been a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School since 1999. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and a longtime fan of the New York Yankees.

Nomination to the United States Supreme Court
Main article: Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination
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Obama and Sotomayor

Prior to her selection as President Barack Obama’s nominee, Sotomayor had been regarded as a potential Supreme Court nominee by several presidents, both Republican and Democratic. She could enjoy bipartisan support. In July 2005, a number of Senate Democrats suggested Sotomayor, among others, to President George W. Bush as a nominee acceptable to them to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The seat was eventually filled by Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the Third Circuit.

Since Obama’s election, there had been speculation that Sotomayor could be a leading candidate for the Supreme Court seat of Justice David Souter, or for any opening on the Court during Obama’s term.[10][11][12][29][32][33][34] On April 9, 2009, New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a joint letter to Obama urging him to appoint Sotomayor, or alternatively Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to the Supreme Court if a vacancy should arise on the Court during his term.[35] On April 30, 2009 David Souter’s retirement plans were leaked to the media, and Sotomayor received early attention as a possible nominee for the seat to be vacated in June 2009.[34] On May 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that Obama was considering Sotomayor, among others, for possible appointment to the United States Supreme Court. On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sotomayor to the court. If confirmed, this would make her the Supreme Court’s first Latina justice.

Previous rulings

1994 baseball strike

On March 30, 1995, as a district judge, Sotomayor issued the preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball, preventing MLB from unilaterally implementing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling ended the 1994 baseball strike after 232 days, the day before the new season was scheduled to begin. The Second Circuit upheld Sotomayor’s decision and denied the owners’ request to stay the ruling.[5][18][42]

Copyright

In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, freelance journalists sued the New York Times Company for copyright infringement for the New York Times’ inclusion in an electronic archival database (LexisNexis) the work of freelancers it had published. Sotomayor (who was then a District Judge) ruled that the publisher had the right to license the freelancer’s work. This decision was reversed on appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the reversal; two dissenters (John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer) took Sotomayor’s position.

In Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Sotomayor ruled that a book of trivia from the television program Seinfeld infringed on the copyright of the show’s producer and did not constitute legal fair use. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Sotomayor’s ruling.

Abortion

In Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, Sotomayor upheld the Bush administration’s implementation of the Mexico City Policy which requires foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds to "neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations". Sotomayor held that the policy did not constitute a violation of equal protection, as the government "is free to favor the anti-abortion position over the pro-choice position, and can do so with public funds".

First Amendment rights

In Pappas v. Giuliani, Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ ruling that the NYPD could terminate an employee from his desk job who sent racist materials through the mail. Sotomayor argued that the First Amendment protected speech by the employee “away from the office, on his own time,” even if that speech was “offensive, hateful, and insulting," and that therefore the employee’s First Amendment claim should have gone to trial rather than being dismissed on summary judgment.

In Dow Jones v. Department of Justice, Sotomayor sided with the Wall Street Journal in its efforts to obtain and publish a photocopy of the suicide note of former White House Counsel Vince Foster. Sotomayor ruled that the public had "a substantial interest" in viewing the note and enjoined the Justice Department from blocking its release.

Second Amendment rights

Sotomayor was part of the three-judge Second Circuit panel that affirmed the district court’s ruling in Maloney v. Cuomo. Maloney was arrested for possession of nunchakus, which are illegal in New York; Maloney argued that this law violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Second Circuit’s per curiam opinion noted that the Supreme Court has not, so far, ever held that the Second Amendment is binding against state governments. On the contrary, in Presser v. Illinois, a Supreme Court case from 1886, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment "is a limitation only upon the power of Congress and the national government, and not upon that of the state." With respect to the Presser v. Illinois precedent, the panel stated that the recent Supreme Court case of District of Columbia v. Heller (which struck down the district’s gun ban as unconstitutional) "does not invalidate this longstanding principle." Thus, the Second Circuit panel upheld the lower court’s decision dismissing Maloney’s complaint.

Fourth Amendment rights

In N.G. ex rel. S.G. v. Connecticut, Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ decision to uphold a series of strip searches of “troubled adolescent girls” in juvenile detention centers. While Sotomayor agreed that some of the strip searches at issue in the case were lawful, she would have held that due to the “the severely intrusive nature of strip searches,” they should not be allowed “in the absence of individualized suspicion, of adolescents who have never been charged with a crime.” She argued that an "individualized suspicion" rule was more consistent with Second Circuit precedent than the majority’s rule.

In Leventhal v. Knapek, Sotomayor rejected a Fourth Amendment challenge by a Department of Transportation employee whose employer searched his office computer. She held that “[e]ven though [the employee] had some expectation of privacy in the contents of his office computer, the investigatory searches by the DOT did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights” because here “there were reasonable grounds for suspecting” the search would reveal evidence of “work-related misconduct.”

Employment discrimination

Sotomayor was a member of a Second Circuit panel in a high-profile case that upheld without significant comment a lower court decision backing the right of the City of New Haven to throw out its promotional test for firefighters and start over with a new test, because the City believed the test had a "disparate impact" on minority firefighters and it might therefore be subject to a lawsuit from minority firefighters under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it certified the test results. (No black firefighters qualified for promotion under the test, whereas some had qualified under tests used in previous years.) Several white firefighters who had taken the test sued the City of New Haven, claiming that their rights were violated because the test was thrown out. The case was recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court as Ricci v. DeStefano,[54] and a ruling has not yet been issued.

Antitrust

In Clarett v. National Football League Sotomayor upheld the NFL’s eligibility rules requiring players to wait three full seasons after high school graduation before entering the NFL draft. Maurice Clarett challenged these rules, which were part of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players, on antitrust grounds. Sotomayor held that Clarett’s claim would upset the established "federal labor law favoring and governing the collective bargaining process." She wrote: "We follow the Supreme Court’s lead in declining to ‘fashion an antitrust exemption so as to give additional advantages to professional football players . . . that transport workers, coal miners, or meat packers would not enjoy.’"

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