“Having a Supreme Court that better reflects the diversity of America helps ensure that we keep faith with the words engraved in Vermont marble over the entrance of the Supreme Court: Equal justice under law. I believe that Judge Sotomayor will be in the mold of Justice Souter, who understands the real-world impact of the Court’s decisions, rather than the mold of the conservative activists who second-guess Congress, and who through judicial extremism undercut laws meant to protect Americans from discrimination in their jobs, their access to health care and education, and their privacy from an overreaching government. I believe Judge Sotomayor understands that the courthouse doors must be as open to ordinary Americans as they are to government and big corporations.”
- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
Not only did Senator Leahy allude to the fact that race should be a factor in determining who should be on the Supreme Court, he also inadvertently (I assume) slammed the check and balance system that is one of the main elements of our Democracy. Conservative Justices are not extremists second guessing Congress. They are doing their job by interpreting the laws based upon the constitution. This is a main difference between Conservatives and Liberals. Liberals seek judges who will agree with a liberal philosophy and the legislation associated with it. Conservatives look for judges who will interpret the laws based upon the constitution no matter their personal feelings on the law. If a law is wrong but constitutional, then you can amend the constitution. That is the way our system is designed and that is the way it should work.
As always though, politics get in the way. With judges it is always about political affiliation and not really about diversifying the court. If it was about “diversity to ensure equal justice” as Leahy spouted then why did Democrats pick out Miguel Estrada back in 2001 when determining whose nominations to block. Well, according to Staff memos, they viewed him “as especially dangerous, because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment.” Interesting. This along with a few other staff memo tidbits have resurfaced from a 2003 article in the Wall Street Journal. Pretty scary stuff.
These memos really highlight how influential special interest groups are to the selection process. And it really should wake people up when you combine this knowledge with Obama’s selection of Sotomayor, a La Raza princess, to the Supreme Court.
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