Job Interview: Sonia Sotomayor
Today I will be posting my thoughts on the Sotomayor Hearing. As I am watching it now, I am reminded of my interview experiences, of course my experience is nothing like Judge Sotomayor's, but what if...in a parallel universe, someone named Sonia is going to an interview today somewhere.
"Hi Sonia, may we call you Sonia? Thanks for coming in today...Great great, have a seat, we went over your resume and it's amazing. We just have a few questions for you, this position has been a bear to fill. We've Googled you, checked your Facebook page, your tweets and looked into every corner of your professional and personal life...now let's start your interview."
Watch the live stream hereon KCET
8:30 AM
One heckler has been thrown out, a pro-life advocate. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont made a strong statement that anyone else speaking out for or against Judge Sotomayor or anyone on the committee will be escorted out. I think a catapult would be handy during times like this.
"Unless you have a complete meltdown you will get confirmed" Sen. Lindsey Graham
"Call it empathy, call it sympathy, or call it prejudice, but whatever it is, it is not law." Senator Jeff Sessions.
From Wikipedia: Empathy is the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes," Empathy does not necessarily imply compassion, sympathy, or empathic concern because this capacity can be present in context of compassionate or cruel behavior. Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. A prejudice is an implicitly held belief, often about a group of people. Race, economic class, gender or sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and religion are other common subjects of prejudice.
What is Senator Sessions talking about? Irony is that Sen. Sessions was the weakest nominee for a federal judgeship by President Ronald Reagan. The nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986.
9:00 am - the committee has gone on a break. President Obama is now on the television nominating Dr. Benjamin for Surgeon General. A banner day for women. Listening to President Obama, I realize that I am fortunate to be witness to the events of today, and I am thankful for the the blood, sweat and tears of the people before me who has forged the path for us.
9:17 am - Senator Sheldon so far has summed it all up, to paraphase him "if we just wanted an umpire then why would we need nine supreme court judges?" (the Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices)
9:27 am - "The American people expect the judicial system to judge them all as equals" - Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK)
"...the Justices understand what it is to be old..." - Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK)
9:31 am Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) "we need our Supreme Court Justices to understand the real world..."
"We need justice whose approach comes form life as well as books".
"Since the nomination of Thurgood Marshall, every Justice was a white male... We owe it to you to be a fair jury".
Another heckler thrown out. I again ask for the catapult to be installed in the committee room.
9:39 am Lunch Break
Up next Senators Spector, Franken and more.
11:12 am - Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DL)
"This public vetting process is extremely valuable...this process will not turn on terms such as "activist" or any other words, we are here to judge you on your record...your records shows no biases"
11:20 am - Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA)
Voted for Sotomayor in her 1988 Appellate Judgeship.
"You bring excellent credentials."
I have always admired Arlen Spector, even when he was a Republican.
11:30 am - Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
I love hearing Al Franken speak as a Senator...I can't help but think of "Stuart Smalley"
He's so great. Another heckler, how do they get in?
"...we do miss Sen. Kennedy's participation in the hearings." Yes, we do.
"To Judge Sotomayor...you are the most experienced nominee in over a 100 years...your story is inspirational and something all Americans should take pride in."
Sen. Franken calls out Judge Thomas and his rulings on constitutional rights.
11:41 am - Judge Sotomayor is about to speak.
Sen. Schumer introducing Judge Sotomayor. Nice to know that both Judge Sotomayor and I both loved "Nancy Drew" growing up.
11:47 am - Sen. Gillibrand now introducing Judge Sotomayor. As I listen to the Judge's personal and professional accomplishments, I am in awe. She 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 and before that on June 25, 1997, Sotomayor was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit,, evidence that she is unbiased and is a fair judge because she has been nominated by both parties to judgeships. Sen. Gillibrand is cut short so that Judge Sotomayor can be administered the oath.
11:54 am Judge Sotomayor sworn in.
"The floor is now yours" Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy
" I am here because of my mother's sacrifices and aspirations...and grateful to the President and humbled to be here..."
"As a district attorney I saw families torn apart by needless deaths...I saw the tough job of police enforcement to keep the public safe."
"In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law," Judge Sotomayor. Plain and simple.
12:02 pm Recess until tomorrow. The joy and pride in the faces of Judge Sotomayor's family behind her reflect the belief in the American Dream, and I have never been prouder to be a US citizen.
Tuesday July 14th, 9:42 am
Just catching up on the first round of questioning by the committee. Judge Sotomayor clarified her "wise latina" remark: "I want to state up front, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judging,"
My reply below to Eigen is my position on whether one ethnic group is wiser than the other.
Wednesday July 15th, 11:00 am
We will have Sen. Franken up soon. After a full day yesterday of "wise Latina" and 2nd amendment questions, we are moving forward. Also up tomorrow
will be New Haven, Conn. firefighter Frank Ricci's reverse discrimination claim which was rejected by Sotomayor.
Sen. Arlen Specter is up. From a senior senator to a junior, all due to his tough choice of crossing the aisle to the Democrats.
" I would like to address the "wise Latina" comment...making a mountain out of a molehill."
I am being reminded on how much I respect Sen. Specter. He is speaking about the issues that minorities face in America, and how the other Justices speak about their backgrounds and how it affected them.
Sen. Specter speaking about if the Court can take on more cases.
"the court needs to think about it's processes...I can't speak about court processes until I experience it."
Sen. Specter speaking about wiretaps in the last administration.
The Supreme Court didn't even decide the legality of the wiretaps. "Wouldn't you have agreed that the Supreme Court to take on the legality of the wiretaps?"
Judge Sotomayor is circling around his questions by not answering on the fact that she can't give an opinion because she does not know all the thinking behind each Supreme Court decision.
Sunday July 19th, 8:02 pm
Wrap up: A long week of oratory and moving chess pieces. Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed despite the GOP questioning of her gender and ethnicity. It wasn't firework television but it was a great lesson in posturing and putting words on record so that it can be dragged back to haunt everyone present. The greatest mercy shown was that Judge Sotomayor's nephews were excused from the rest of the proceedings, and with them went the majority of the viewers. I look forward to the first case heard by Judge Sotomayor and I wish her well, she's amazingly poised under the glare of the public and it is this poise and determination that has carried her and will continue to carry her through.