The View From 1987; Decrying judicial activism (Repubs should be clear what Soto's problems are)

NEWSWEEK ^ | Jun 20, 2009, NEWSWEEK June 29 edition | Stuart Taylor Jr.

[Liz]

Robert Bork says choosing Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court was 'a bad mistake.'

Excerpt: His name has become a verb in the Oxford English Dictionary: if you've been blocked from appointment to public office, you've been "borked." Robert Bork was derailed in 1987 by a hostile Senate. Bork sat down with NEWSWEEK for a rare interview.

Pres Obama has spoken of empathy as his key standard for choosing judicial nominees. What do you think of that approach? .......at a minimum it means you want a judge who will depart from the meaning of the constitution when a sympathetic case arises. It does seem to raise a warning that we're talking about a judge who does not follow the law.

What are your thoughts about her nomination? I think it was a bad mistake. Her comments about the wise Latina suggest identity-group jurisprudence. She also has a reputation for bullying counsel. And her record is not particularly distinguished. Far from it. And it is unusual to nominate somebody who states flatly that she was the beneficiary of affirmative action. But I can't believe she will be any worse than some recent white male appointees.

What's the responsible approach for Senate Republicans now to take if they share some of the concerns you've expressed about Judge Sotomayor? I don't think they ought to filibuster. That would be very bad press for them. But I don't think deferring to the president is always a good idea. I would suggest that they air the issue so that people understand what the objection is. And then vote against, which will not affect anything. Or, if they air the issue thoroughly, some could even vote in favor of confirmation. But you've got to be clear what the problem is.

[Bob017]

“Pres Obama has spoken of empathy as his key standard for choosing judicial nominees. What do you think of that approach? .......at a minimum it means you want a judge who will depart from the meaning of the constitution when a sympathetic case arises. It does seem to raise a warning that we’re talking about a judge who does not follow the law.”

Haha, nicely put.

[Liz]

Obama says he wants an "empathetic" justice. Did Sotomayor ever "empathize" with a gun owner or a middle-class white woman? More likely her empathy is limited to to liberal Democarat victim groups and voting blocs they need for relection and campaign contributions.

When he talks about "judges with empathy," this is what Obama means:

By Ann Coulter
HUMAN EVENTS---Vol. 53 Issue 39, p 11,
17 OCTOBER 1997
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE FOR REJECTING JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR
(Sotomayor was then on the Clinton Administration's fast track toward the Supreme Court.)
FR Posted May 31, 2009 Extremely Extreme Extremist

SOTOMAYOR'S ACTUAL WORDS FROM THE BENCH, SENTENCING ADMITTED DRUG DEALER Louis Gomez (a noncitizen), who pleaded guilty to dealing cocaine:

“[I]t is in some respects a great tragedy for our country that instead of permitting you to serve a lesser sentence and rejoin your family at an earlier time I am required by law to give you the statutory minimum. ... [W]e all understand that you were in part a victim of the economic necessities of our society, unfortunately there are laws that I must impose. “Louis Gomez, yours is the tragedy of our laws and the greatest one that I know. ... the one our congressmen never thought about and don’t think about. ... “It is no comfort to you for me to say that I am deeply, personally sorry about the sentence that I must impose, because the law requires me to do so. The only statement I can make is this is one more example of an abomination being committed before our sight. You do not deserve this, sir.”

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Nelson Castellanos was arrested in NYC outside his Harlem apartment, charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was holding his keys and a white shopping bag containing about $10,000, mostly in $1 and $20 bills. That evening, pursuant to a warrant, DEA personnel searched his apartment and found over 1,200 grams of cocaine, six live rounds of ammunition, a .44 caliber revolver and incriminating notebooks. All this evidence was thrown out by District Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the grounds that the DEA agents had not provided the magistrate with probable cause to search Castellanos's apartment. ///////////

NEWS ITEM REFERENCE Sen John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Sonia Sotomayor should explain whether she intends to be a justice "for all of us, or just for some of us," at July 13 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings......and whether she believes in colorblind justice.

In 2001, she said a "wise Latina" would reach better decisions than a white man...... Cornyn said it suggests a judicial philosophy that suggests a judge is better qualified or more likely to reach better legal decisions because of sex, race or ethnicity....."I simply do not understand that contention, and I would like to ask her about it," Cornyn said. Cornyn has also questioned Sotomayor's stance on gun rights, property rights, and discrimination.

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Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions criticized Obama, and argued that liberals are destroying the rule of law by picking judges who will bring their own feelings and politics to the bench.

Being Hispanic is not a criteria for seating a Supreme Court Justice. More is being made about her race than her actual judicial record.

Clearly, Sotomayor's the "Latino Grievances" nominee......every ruling from the bench will be ironclad to redress every latino grievance since time immemorial. Americans will be paying with our freedoms for those Frito Bandito commercials.

The fact that Sotomayor----and her crowd----do not understand a democracy is based on three co-equal branches of government is grounds for showing her the road. She has the same disdain for America and it’s citizenry as evidenced by Obama.