The news this summer was filled with many items of import: new healthcare plans, Congressional bailouts and former President Clinton's rescue of two captured journalists. There was one more major national event which didn't quite seem to receive the attention it deserved: the Congressional hearings for President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Compared to the controversial and debate-filled hearings for Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts in 2005, one could almost say that these hearings went too smoothly for a congressional session.
As the highest court in the land, decisions made by the Supreme Court have a wide and long-lasting impact on how law, the government and society interact. With nine justices, often the most controversial cases are decided 5-4 by a swing vote; thus, replacing a single justice may change the dynamics of the bench.
Sotomayor, regarded as a fairly liberal judge, is replacing Souter, who is typically liberal in his decisions as well. As a result, the balance appears to be maintained, at least on paper. But Sotomayor has shown herself to be highly capable of separating her personal views from the legal aspects at hand, and the big question now is how the newest associate justice will affect the Court's upcoming decisions.
Sonia Sotomayor is an example of the American dream: a minority born to a poor family, working hard to make it to the Ivy League and succeeding to the very top of the legal profession, despite hardships. She was appointed to a seat on the District Court of New York, and later to the US Court of Appeals, by President Clinton. Her career has been highly regarded and is essentially spotless; she has earned great respect from colleagues for making strong, rational, legal decisions and not allowing her personal biases to affect her judgments.
The single blemish on her career - and the one that was attacked and clung to by conservatives - was a single comment about a "wise Latina woman" being able to make sounder judgments than a white man. During the hearings she corrected her word choice, making it clear that she meant no racist remark.
Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand strongly urged President Obama to consider Sotomayor earlier this year, and when Justice Souter retired, Sotomayor became the lead runner in nominees.
It seems almost too good, too by-the-book, to be true.
Some people speculated that her minority status may have been one of the reasons she was nominated. She would increase the diversity of the last branch of government still largely dominated by white males. Congress has had minorities for years and the executive branch has its first minority president, as well as a minority-filled Cabinet.
Prior to Sotomayor's confirmation, though, the Court had eight male justices, and seven of Caucasian descent. Justice Sotomayor is perfect because she "would add needed diversity" to the Court, as said by Senator Arlen Specter, a Democrat from Pennsylvania.
During the hearings, Sotomayor portrayed herself as the perfect candidate for the position. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said that the Senate "will focus on determining whether Judge Sotomayor is committed to deciding cases based only on the law as made by the people and their elected representatives, not on personal feelings or politics."
Her application for the justice seat, a 173-page document with questions from the Senate Judiciary committee about her past decisions, was completed in the same vein. She answered each question with solid reasoning backing her decisions, never letting her personal thoughts and beliefs factor in.
During the hearings, the same occurred. Through being grilled on sensitive Constitution and Bill of Rights issues, Sotomayor kept calm and answered "correctly" without personal bias.
Further streamlining the hearings were the numbers. In order to be confirmed, Sotomayor needed a majority vote of the Senate, meaning 51 of the full 100 members. Only 40 senators are Republicans. The minority status, ironically speaking, of the Republicans made it very difficult for them, and even stalling tactics such as the filibuster would likely have ended in cloture.
As she was strongly supported by President Obama and the Democrats, Sotomayor did not need to win Republican votes. She received nine, from senators whose states had marginal majorities who voted for Obama in last year's election.
Indeed, there seemed to be very little blocking Sotomayor's confirmation, and in retrospect, the hearings were more of a formality. On Aug. 8, Sotomayor was sworn in as the first Hispanic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The late Senator Ted Kennedy said of Sotomayor: "She'll bring intelligence, insight and experience to the vital work of protecting the fundamental rights and liberties of all Americans. She is eminently qualified for the Supreme Court."We will see how she follows through on that. The political balance of the Court has remained the same, but Justice Sotomayor has proved that she can separate law from bias. The Supreme Court may surprise us in the upcoming years.
