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Sotomayor is asked about lower trust in Supreme Court. She points to pace of overturned precedents
AP ^ | Feb 5, 2025 | BRUCE SCHREINER

Posted on 02/06/2025 6:46:10 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed to her conservative colleagues' willingness to upend decades-old precedents when asked Wednesday night about sagging public confidence in the court.

“I think my court would probably gather more public support if it went a little more slowly in undoing precedent,” Sotomayor said during an appearance in Louisville.

The conservative-led court — reshaped by three justices nominated by Republican President Donald Trump — overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nationwide protections for abortion rights. And it struck down affirmative action in college admissions, effectively overturning cases reaching back decades.

Sotomayor, a member of the court’s liberal minority, didn't delve into the precedent-busting cases during the Louisville event, but said the public doesn't like it when the court "moves too quickly in upheavals.”

“I think that creates instability in the society, in people’s perception of law and people’s perception of whether we’re doing things because of legal analysis or because of partisan views," she said. “Whether those views are accurate or not, I don’t accuse my colleagues of being partisan.”

She said they “genuinely have a belief in a certain way of looking at the constitution.”.....

Sotomayor spent more than an hour answering questions from the dean of the University of Louisville law school. Sotomayor was in Louisville to receive the law school’s Brandeis Medal, presented to people in the legal profession for their work advancing public service and their devotion to economic, social or political justice. UofL’s law school is named for Louis D. Brandeis, a former Supreme Court justice from Louisville.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; Philosophy; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: badprecedent; caselaw; courtprecedents; fakenews; scotus; sotomayor; widelatina; wiseacrelatina; wiselatina
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When unconstitutional precedents happen they need to be overturned. The overriding document needs to be the US Constitution. Case law, precedents, foreign law, social justice, feeling, etc. need to always be secondary to the Constitution.

What's also wrong is the courts' failure to recognize that the 10th Amendment overrules supremacy. If the US Government does not have that specified power then they can't have supremacy over states in that area (e.g., Education, marriage, etc.)

Several SCOTUS decisions that are suspect: Roe vs Wade, Affirmative action, Kelo, etc. Just because the dissenting opinion(s) are in the minority does make it wrong.

1 posted on 02/06/2025 6:46:10 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

She is such a wise Latina! /s
(I mean wide)


2 posted on 02/06/2025 6:47:57 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

the SC is suppose to follow the rule of law not the rule of political push polling.

“Sagging confidence” is an AP manufactured irrelevancy


3 posted on 02/06/2025 6:48:55 AM PST by MNJohnnie (Don't blame me, my congressman is MTG!)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Roe v Wade = trash
Numerous state gun laws= trash
Birthright citizenship= hopefully trash


4 posted on 02/06/2025 6:50:07 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (Import The Third World,Become The Third World)
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To: Resolute Conservative

She said they “genuinely have a belief in a certain way of looking at the constitution.”..
seeing it through the eyes of a radical liberal?


5 posted on 02/06/2025 6:50:21 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

slow down the liberal screamed, so we can hopefully get a future liberal majority that wont do this.

F that.

Full steam ahead!


6 posted on 02/06/2025 6:50:29 AM PST by TexasFreeper2009
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To: Gay State Conservative

You forgot Obergfell v Hodges. That one should go to the dung heap as well.


7 posted on 02/06/2025 6:57:24 AM PST by cross_bearer_02
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

This is a simple reflection of the old adage, it depends on whose ox is being gored. When the SC issues some radical leftist decision, we lose trust in it. When they issue a decision friendly to conservatives, leftists lose confidence in it. All in a day’s work really,.


8 posted on 02/06/2025 7:00:07 AM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

In many ways SCOTUS has morphed from Supreme Court of the US into the Supreme Clowns of the US. John Roberts made the statement that their judges are impartial but their voting record proves that is not the case at all.


9 posted on 02/06/2025 7:01:10 AM PST by antidemoncrat ( )
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

No doubt AP interviewed her because they want to ask, “why can’t they stop Trump already”.


10 posted on 02/06/2025 7:05:30 AM PST by rottweiller_inc (Lupus urbem intravit. Fulminis ictu vultures super turrem exanimat. )
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To: Resolute Conservative

Calling this woman an activist jurist is so much of an understatement.


11 posted on 02/06/2025 7:06:21 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: rottweiller_inc

Given she is a type 1 diabetic, and 70 years old, her, Alito and Thomas are the most likely ones to retire/be replaced.

We can only hope that Republicans control the White House when they do.


12 posted on 02/06/2025 7:08:51 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

if it went a little more slowly in undoing precedent,”


It is not about that. It is a reboot to the constitution.


13 posted on 02/06/2025 7:17:57 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

We take a look at DEIs like her, Kagan and Brown and we stop wondering....


14 posted on 02/06/2025 7:24:51 AM PST by 13Sisters76 ("It is amazing how many people mistake a certain hip snideness for sophistication. " Thos. Sowell)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Bring back Dredd - Scott... it was precedent...


15 posted on 02/06/2025 7:28:58 AM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Trump appointed textualists, like Scalia was. She is not.


16 posted on 02/06/2025 7:29:39 AM PST by bigbob (Yes. We ARE going back!)
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To: MNJohnnie

Another DEI hire, what can you expect?

On precedent. Courts can make mistakes. This is not “evolving” jurisprudence — it is correcting an error that violated the Const AT THAT TIME.
What she is saying is that once a court rules that = “established science”. And, as any scientist knows, yah never question science. Like I said, another DEI hire.


17 posted on 02/06/2025 7:40:25 AM PST by bobbo666
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
"willingness to upend decades-old precedents"

The Constitution is a living document.

18 posted on 02/06/2025 7:40:59 AM PST by yesthatjallen
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To: All

At one time the Dred Scott decision was a precedent!
Has the Wide Latina forgotten that?


19 posted on 02/06/2025 7:42:26 AM PST by Reily (a)
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To: Gay State Conservative

She wants to move more slowly??? These are 60-100 year old previous decisions. I’m sure she will be happy to wait another 100 years before the cases are addressed again.

EC


20 posted on 02/06/2025 7:57:38 AM PST by Ex-Con777
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