Sotomayor Is The American Dream [June 3, 2009]

The National Urban League commends President Obama for his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to succeed retiring Judge David Souter as the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  A current federal Court of Appeals judge in New York, Judge Sotomayor has also served with distinction as a federal district judge, an Assistant District Attorney, a corporate lawyer, a university professor and an advocate for the rights of low-income and minority people.  We believe that her intellectual heft along with the breadth of her judicial and life experiences make her eminently qualified to serve on the nation’s highest court. 

Sonia Sotomayor is a classic “American Dream” success story.  The daughter of working class Puerto Rican immigrant parents, she grew up in a Bronx public housing project and was raised by a single mother after her father’s death when she was nine.  Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age eight, she is proof that people with that disease can go on to live full and successful lives.  She also overcame poverty, as well as ethnic and gender barriers to graduate from Princeton and Yale Law School and become one of the most successful jurists in the country.   If confirmed, Sonia Sotomayor will become the first Latina Justice and only the third woman to serve on the Court.

Because of the National Urban League’s long-standing commitment to civil rights and social justice, we have a unique responsibility to our constituents to carefully evaluate and influence important national decisions, including nominations to the United States federal courts.  That is why we are pleased that prior to President Obama’s first Supreme Court nomination, he sought and received input from us and a number of other leading organizations.  We told the President that in our view, Judge Sotomayor’s demonstrated commitment to upholding civil rights, equality of opportunity and social justice will make her an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.

Her opponents point to her background of advocacy and strong stands for minority rights as reasons to disqualify her.  We disagree.  In fact, Judge Sotomayor’s judicial record is decidedly centrist, and her rulings have consistently comported with established law. We also agree with the President who cited her ability to empathize with both plaintiffs and defendants as an asset.  Upon her nomination Judge Sotomayor said, “I strive never to forget the real-world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government.” We believe that justice would be better served if all judges held that view.

Finally, Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court is a further reflection of America’s changing attitudes about race, ethnicity and gender.  The appointment of the first Hispanic and third woman to the Supreme Court is a milestone of great importance.  As President Obama said, “When Sonia Sotomayor ascends those marble steps to assume her seat on the highest court of the land, America will have taken another important step towards realizing the ideal that is etched above its entrance:  Equal justice under the law.”

We urge the Senate to swiftly move forward to confirm Judge Sotomayor’s nomination.