Dear Editor,
Before a vacancy opened in the US Supreme Court, I told my students (I teach the graduating class) that President Barack Obama’s first judicial appointment would be a woman and I expressed the hope that it would be a Hispanic because no Hispanic ever served on the court and I think there is need for a male/female balance in the court. So far, only two women were ever appointed to the court and only one is currently serving. A minority judge in the court may help to consolidate the rights of minorities, particularly immigrants, although the lone minority judge on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, an African American, is no friend of immigrants or minorities as leading civil rights advocates, including Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, often remind Americans.
President Obama made an excellent choice in selecting Judge Sotomayor, and I hope she is confirmed soon. Judge Sotomayor lived among Guyanese and other minorities in the South Bronx. She may better understand them than other judges, should any matter come before her. In fact, she said she would use her life experiences in rendering decisions.
Judge Sotomayor is fully qualified for the job. It is a politically wise choice. In appointing her, Obama gives more prominence to minorities and to women. He also fulfilled two promises of his election campaign – to bring more women and minorities into national prominence thereby making ‘the government’ more representative of the nation. In addition, in appointing a Hispanic, Obama has boosted his credentials among this large bloc of voters who proved crucial to landing him in the White House last November. I hope that should another vacancy open up during his tenure, the President will appoint an Asian (preferably another woman) making the Supreme Court a true reflection of the nation’s diversity and enhancing the prominence of minorities.
The Judicial Committee of the US Senate grilled Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and although several Senators were not pleased with her responses to questions, I think and hope she will be confirmed. Sotomayor has been an outstanding judge – balanced and fair. Her record is exemplary. She does not pander to ethnic (herself a Hispanic) or to gender or minority politics, although she made a decision that benefited minorities and hurt Whites (this decision was overturned last month by the Supreme Court). She called cases as she saw them and it has earned her the respect and confidence of her colleagues.
Sotomayor has a long and distinguished career on the federal bench. She has been nominated by both Democratic and Republican presidents. Unlike in Guyana, judges have to be confirmed by the Senate. Sotomayor was twice confirmed by the Senate with strong, bipartisan support.
As someone wrote, having a Supreme Court that better reflects the diversity of the country, 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 should note that the US Supreme Court is the final arbiter in the justice system, and several times it has ruled against the President. The court plays a very important role in the American system of government (once choosing a President, George Bush, in 2000 in a 5-4 decision) and has a significant impact on peoples’ lives. One less Republican judge and someone who understands or has lived among minorities could help to enhance their rights.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
