CNSNews.com - Sotomayor ‘Clearly Rejected’ Impartiality, Kyl Says

CNSNews.com - Sotomayor ‘Clearly Rejected’ Impartiality, Kyl Says

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record indicates that she has rejected the idea of an objective legal standard by which all should be judged, instead subsituting her own feelings and biases. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) defended her, saying she represented “living proof” that the country is on the right track.

Speaking on Monday, the first day of Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings, Kyl said that in his 20-year experience as a lawyer, which includes arguing before the Supreme Court, he had never once heard a lawyer rely on empathy or any other emotion.



“I practiced law for almost 20 years before every level of state and federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and never once did I hear a lawyer argue that he had no legal basis to sustain his client’s position,” Kyl said, “so that he had to ask the judge to go with his ‘gut’ or ‘heart.’”

Kyl said that such a judge would endanger the judicial system’s “legitimacy,” arguing that if Judge Sotomayor actually fulfilled the empathy standard set by President Obama, she would be such a judge.

“If judges routinely started ruling on the basis of their personal feelings, however well-intentioned, the entire legitimacy of the judicial system would be jeopardized,” Kyl said.


Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) (Photo courtesy of Kyl's Web site)
“The question for this committee is whether Judge Sotomayor agrees with President Obama’s theory of judging or whether she will faithfully interpret the laws and Constitution,” Kyl added.

Kyl said that many of Sotomayor’s public statements, including one in which she said a “wise Latina” should be a better judge than a white man, showed that she had abandoned impartiality for the emotional standard set by the president.

“The ‘wise Latina woman’ quote, which I referred to earlier, suggests that Judge Sotomayor endorses a view that judges should allow gender-, ethnic, and experienced-based biases to guide her when rendering judicial opinions,” Kyl lamented.

In a 2001 speech at the University of California-Berkeley, Sotomayor said she was not sure whether she agreed with the idea that a wise man and a wise woman would “reach the same conclusion in deciding cases,” adding, “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.”

Sotomayor, Kyl charged, had “clearly rejected” the idea of impartial judging.

“Judge Sotomayor rejected the notion that judges should strive for an impartial brand of justice,” said Kyl. “She has clearly ‘accepted’ that her gender and Latina heritage will affect the outcome of her cases.”

Feingold defended Sotomayor, saying there was “no way” anyone could conclude the “wise Latina” comment was racially charged.

“This charge is not based on anything in her judicial record, because there is absolutely nothing in the hundreds of opinions she has written to support it,” Feingold said. “Instead, a few lines from a 2001 speech, taken out of context, have prompted some to charge that she is a racist.


Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.)
“I believe that no one who reads the whole Berkeley [‘wise Latina’] speech could honestly come to that conclusion,” Feingold added.

Feingold said that instead, Sotomayor’s speech indicates she is an intelligent, considerate judge whose temperament should be a model for the entire judiciary.

“[T]hose are the words of a thoughtful, humble, and self-aware judge striving to do her very best to administer impartial justice for all Americans,” Feingold said. “It seems to me that is a quality we want in our judges.”

Feingold said that, in fact, Sotomayor was “living proof” that America was making progress on issues of race.

“Judge Sotomayor is living proof that this country is moving in the right direction on the issue of race, that doors of opportunity are finally starting to open for all our citizens.”

Feingold praised Sotomayor, saying her nomination would be inspiring to children.

“Just as the election of President Obama gave new hope and encouragement to African American children all over this country, Judge Sotomayor’s nomination will inspire countless Hispanic children to study harder and dream higher, and that is something we should all celebrate,” said Feingold.