| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sonia Sotomayor |
Sonia Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954) is a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit. On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor for
appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter.[2][3] Sotomayor is
of Puerto Rican descent, and was born in the Bronx. Her father died when she was nine, and she
was raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with a B.A., Summa Cum Laude, from Princeton in
1976, and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law
Journal. She worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York for a time before entering private
practice in 1984. Considered a political centrist, Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed in
1992.
Sotomayor has ruled on several high profile cases. In 1995, she issued the preliminary injunction
against Major League Baseball which ended the 1994 Baseball Strike. Sotomayor made a ruling
allowing the Wall Street Journal to publish Vince Foster's suicide note. In 1997, she was nominated
by Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After more than a year, she was
confirmed and joined the court in 1998. Sotomayor was an Adjunct Professor at New York University
School of Law from 1998 to 2007 and has been a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School since
1999.
Prior to her selection by Obama, Sotomayor had been considered by both Democratic and
Republican presidents as a Supreme Court candidate. In 2005, Senate Democrats suggested
Sotomayor as a nominee to George W. Bush, who eventually selected Samuel A. Alito, Jr. There
was speculation that Sotomayor could be an Obama Supreme Court nominee prior to Justice
Souter's retirement announcement. This speculation only intensified after Souter's announcement
and when it was reported that she was on Obama's shortlist. On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated
Sotomayor to the court. If confirmed, she would be the court's first Latina justice.
•
Early life and family
Sotomayor was born in the Bronx borough of New York City.[4] Her father, Juan Sotomayor, a tool-
and-die worker with a third-grade education who did not speak English, was from the Santurce area
of San Juan.[4][5][6] Her mother, Celina Sotomayor, a nurse, was from the neighborhood of Santa
Rosa in Lajas, a still mostly rural area on Puerto Rico's southwest coast.[5] They left Puerto Rico,
met, and married during World War II after Celina served in the Women's Army Corps.[7]
Sonia was raised a Catholic[1] and grew up in the South Bronx, a short walk from Yankee Stadium.[8]
[9] In the 1960s the family moved to the Bronxdale Houses housing project and then to Co-op City,
both in the East Bronx.[7] Sonia was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age eight.[10][6] Her younger
brother is Juan Sotomayor, who is now a doctor in Syracuse, New York.[11]
Sonia's father died at age 42, in part from heart complications, when she was nine years old.[7] After
this was when Sonia first became fluent in English.[6] She was inspired to go into a legal career and
become a judge by watching the Perry Mason television series.[6] Sotomayor has credited her
mother as being her "life aspiration".[11]
On August 14, 1976, Sotomayor married Kevin Edward Noonan just after graduating Princeton
University.[4] She and Noonan divorced in 1983; they did not have children.[10]
Education and early legal career
Sotomayor's mother put great stress on the value of education, and bought the Encyclopædia
Britannica for her children, an unusual sight in the housing projects.[7] Sotomayor graduated as
valedictorian from the parochial Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx in 1972.[7] She earned
her A.B. from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude in 1976.[12] Sotomayor obtained
her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.[4]
Sotomayor then served as an Assistant District Attorney under prominent New York County District
Attorney Robert Morgenthau starting in 1979.[4] There she prosecuted robberies, assaults,
murders, police brutality, and child pornography cases.[4] In 1984, she entered private practice,
making partner at the commercial litigation firm of Pavia & Harcourt, where she specialized in
intellectual property litigation.[8][6][13]
Federal judicial service
She is considered a political centrist by the American Bar Association Journal[13][14] and other
sources and organizations.[10][6][13][14][15][16][17][18] Several lawyers, legal experts, and news
organizations also identify her as someone who has liberal inclinations.[19][20][21] Sotomayor was
nominated on November 27, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by John M. Walker, Jr. She became the
youngest judge in the Southern District[18] and the first Hispanic federal judge anywhere in New
York State.[22] Sotomayor was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1992, and
received her commission the next day.
Confirmation as Court of Appeals Judge
Sotomayor at a 2004 exhibit on the Fourteenth Amendment, Thurgood Marshall, and Brown v.
Board of Education, with circuit judges Robert A. Katzmann and Damon J. Keith.
On June 25, 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the seat she now holds, which was
vacated by J. Daniel Mahoney. Her nomination was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate
Judiciary Committee, but became "embroiled in the sometimes tortured judicial politics of the
Senate," as some Republicans said they did not want to consider the nomination because elevating
Sotomayor to the Appeals Court would enhance her prospects of being appointed to the Supreme
Court.[23][24] An anonymous senator put a secret hold on her nomination, blocking it for over a
year. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy called the length of the hold "disturbing," "petty," and
"shameful," also noting that at that time, "[o]f the 10 judicial nominees whose nominations have been
pending the longest before the Senate, eight are women and racial or ethnic minority candidates."
[25]
In 1998, several Hispanic organizations organized a petition drive in New York State, generating
hundreds of signatures from New Yorkers to try to convince New York Republican Senator Al
D'Amato to push the Senate leadership to bring Sotomayor's nomination to a vote.[26] Her
nomination had been pending for over a year when Majority Leader Trent Lott scheduled the vote.
Many Republicans, including then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and six other
Republicans who are still in the Senate today, voted for Sotomayor's confirmation to the Second
Circuit.[23] With solid Democratic support, and support from about half of Republicans, Sotomayor
was confirmed on October 2, 1998, in a 67-29 vote,[27] and she received her commission on
October 7.
Awards and honors
Sotomayor has received honorary degrees from Lehman College, Princeton University, Brooklyn
Law School, Pace University School of Law, Hofstra University,[28] and Northeastern University.[29]
She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2002.[29]
Other activities
While in private practice, Sotomayor was appointed in 1988 as one of the founding members of the
New York City Campaign Finance Board, where she served for four years.[30] She has also been a
member of the Board of Directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), the Puerto
Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the foundation then known as the Maternity Center
Association (now called Childbirth Connection).[31]
Sotomayor was an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law from 1998 to 2007 and
has been a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School since 1999.[31] She is a member of the Board of
Trustees of Princeton University and a longtime fan of the New York Yankees.[32]
Nomination to the United States Supreme Court
Obama and Sotomayor
Prior to her selection as President Barack Obama's nominee, Sotomayor had been regarded as a
potential Supreme Court nominee by several presidents, both Republican and Democratic.[13][33]
She could enjoy bipartisan support.[16][34][35] In July 2005, a number of Senate Democrats
suggested Sotomayor, among others, to President George W. Bush as a nominee acceptable to
them to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.[citation needed] The
seat was eventually filled by Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the Third Circuit.[citation needed]
Since Obama's election, there had been speculation that Sotomayor could be a leading candidate
for the Supreme Court seat of Justice David Souter, or for any opening on the Court during
Obama's term.[13][14][15][33][36][37][38] On April 9, 2009, New York Senators Charles Schumer
and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a joint letter to Obama urging him to appoint Sotomayor, or alternatively
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to the Supreme Court if a vacancy should arise on the Court during
his term.[39] On April 30, 2009 David Souter's retirement plans were leaked to the media, and
Sotomayor received early attention as a possible nominee for the seat to be vacated in June 2009.
[38] On May 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that Obama was considering Sotomayor,
among others, for possible appointment to the United States Supreme Court.[40] On May 26, 2009,
Obama nominated Sotomayor to the court.[41] If confirmed, this would make her the Supreme
Court's first Latina justice.[39][42][43][44] [45] She would also be the third woman to serve on the
Court, and the twelfth Roman Catholic, with her appointment giving the Court a record six Catholic
Justices.
Previous rulings
1994 baseball strike
On March 30, 1995, as a district judge, Sotomayor issued the preliminary injunction against Major
League Baseball, preventing MLB from unilaterally implementing a new Collective Bargaining
Agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling ended the 1994 baseball strike after 232
days, the day before the new season was scheduled to begin. The Second Circuit upheld
Sotomayor's decision and denied the owners' request to stay the ruling.[9][32][46]
Copyright
In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, freelance journalists sued the New York Times Company for
copyright infringement for the New York Times' inclusion in an electronic archival database
(LexisNexis) the work of freelancers it had published. Sotomayor (who was then a District Judge)
ruled that the publisher had the right to license the freelancer's work. This decision was reversed on
appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the reversal; two dissenters (John Paul Stevens and
Stephen Breyer) took Sotomayor's position.[47]
In Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Sotomayor ruled as a district judge
that a book of trivia from the television program Seinfeld infringed on the copyright of the show's
producer and did not constitute legal fair use. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit upheld Sotomayor's ruling.
Abortion
In Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush,[48] Sotomayor upheld the Bush administration's
implementation of the Mexico City Policy which requires foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds to
"neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations".
Sotomayor held that the policy did not constitute a violation of equal protection, as the government
"is free to favor the anti-abortion position over the pro-choice position, and can do so with public
funds".[49]
First Amendment rights
In Pappas v. Giuliani,[50] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ ruling that the NYPD could
terminate an employee from his desk job who sent racist materials through the mail. Sotomayor
argued that the First Amendment protected speech by the employee “away from the office, on [his]
own time,” even if that speech was “offensive, hateful, and insulting," and that therefore the
employee's First Amendment claim should have gone to trial rather than being dismissed on
summary judgment.
In Dow Jones v. Department of Justice,[51] Sotomayor sided with the Wall Street Journal in its efforts
to obtain and publish a photocopy of the suicide note of former White House Counsel Vince Foster.
Sotomayor ruled that the public had "a substantial interest" in viewing the note and enjoined the
Justice Department from blocking its release.
Second Amendment rights
Sotomayor was part of the three-judge Second Circuit panel that affirmed the district court's ruling in
Maloney v. Cuomo.[52] Maloney was arrested for possession of nunchakus, which are illegal in New
York; Maloney argued that this law violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Second
Circuit's per curiam opinion noted that the Supreme Court has not, so far, ever held that the Second
Amendment is binding against state governments. On the contrary, in Presser v. Illinois, a Supreme
Court case from 1886, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment "is a limitation only
upon the power of Congress and the national government, and not upon that of the state." With
respect to the Presser v. Illinois precedent, the panel stated that the recent Supreme Court case of
District of Columbia v. Heller (which struck down the district's gun ban as unconstitutional) "does not
invalidate this longstanding principle." Thus, the Second Circuit panel upheld the lower court's
decision dismissing Maloney's complaint.[53]
Fourth Amendment rights
In N.G. ex rel. S.G. v. Connecticut,[54] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ decision to uphold
a series of strip searches of “troubled adolescent girls” in juvenile detention centers. While
Sotomayor agreed that some of the strip searches at issue in the case were lawful, she would have
held that due to the “the severely intrusive nature of strip searches,” they should not be allowed “in
the absence of individualized suspicion, of adolescents who have never been charged with a crime.”
She argued that an "individualized suspicion" rule was more consistent with Second Circuit
precedent than the majority's rule.
In Leventhal v. Knapek[55], Sotomayor rejected a Fourth Amendment challenge by a Department of
Transportation employee whose employer searched his office computer. She held that “[e]ven
though [the employee] had some expectation of privacy in the contents of his office computer, the
investigatory searches by the DOT did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights” because here
“there were reasonable grounds for suspecting” the search would reveal evidence of “work-related
misconduct.”
Employment discrimination
Sotomayor was a member of a Second Circuit panel in a high-profile case that upheld without
significant comment a lower court decision backing the right of the City of New Haven to throw out its
promotional test for firefighters and start over with a new test, because the City believed the test had
a "disparate impact" on minority firefighters and it might therefore be subject to a lawsuit from
minority firefighters under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it certified the test results. (No
black firefighters qualified for promotion under the test, whereas some had qualified under tests
used in previous years.) Several white firefighters who had passed the test, including the lead
plaintiff who has dyslexia and had put much extra effort into studying, sued the City of New Haven,
claiming that their rights were violated because the test was thrown out. The case was recently
heard by the U.S. Supreme Court as Ricci v. DeStefano,[56][57][58] and a ruling has not yet been
issued.
Antitrust
In Clarett v. National Football League[59] Sotomayor upheld the NFL's eligibility rules requiring
players to wait three full seasons after high school graduation before entering the NFL draft.
Maurice Clarett challenged these rules, which were part of the collective bargaining agreement
between the NFL and its players, on antitrust grounds. Sotomayor held that Clarett's claim would
upset the established "federal labor law favoring and governing the collective bargaining process."
She wrote: "We follow the Supreme Court's lead in declining to 'fashion an antitrust exemption [so as
to give] additional advantages to professional football players . . . that transport workers, coal
miners, or meat packers would not enjoy.'"
Civil Rights
In Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp.[60], Sotomayor, writing for the court, supported the right
of an individual to sue a private corporation working on behalf of the federal government for alleged
violations of that individual's constitutional rights. Reversing a lower court decision, Sotomayor found
that an existing Supreme Court doctrine, known as "Bivens" — which allows suits against individuals
working for the federal government for constitutional rights violations — could be applied to the case
of a former prisoner seeking to sue the private company operating the federal halfway house facility
in which he resided. The Supreme Court reversed Sotomayor's ruling in a 5-4 decision, saying that
the Bivens doctrine could not be expanded to cover private entities working on behalf of the federal
government. Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented, siding with Sotomayor's
original ruling.
Property Rights
In Krimstock v. Kelly,[61], Sotomayor wrote an opinion halting New York City's practice of seizing the
motor vehicles of drivers accused of driving while intoxicated and some other crimes and holding
those vehicles for "months or even years" during criminal proceedings. Noting the importance of
cars to many individuals' livelihoods or daily activities, she held that it violated individuals' due
process rights to hold the vehicles without permitting the owners to challenge the City's continued
possession of their property.
In Brody v. Village of Port Chester, [62], a takings case, Sotomayor wrote an opinion remanding the
case to the district court for further proceedings on whether Brody had adequate notice of the
Village's condemnation proceedings against his property. (A related proceeding in the lower court
was called Didden v. Village of Port Chester. The case has drawn attention from conservative
commentators.[63][64])
References
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recommending he nominate the first ever Latino to the Supreme Court should a vacancy occur during his term". Press Release of
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second Hispanic, depending on whether one counts Benjamin Cardozo)". The Daily News. 2009-05-01. http://www.nydailynews.
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46. ^ National Labor Relations Board v. Major League Baseball, 880 F. Supp. 246 (1995)
47. ^ Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases, CNN.com, 26 May 2009. Accessed 26 May 2009.
48. ^ Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002)
49. ^ Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush.
50. ^ Pappas v. Giuliani, 290 F.3d 143 (2d Cir. 2002)
51. ^ Dow Jones v. Department of Justice, 880 F. Supp. 145 (S.D.N.Y. 1995)
52. ^ Maloney v. Cuomo, 554 F.3d 56 (2009)
53. ^ Tom Goldstein, "Judge Sotomayor’s Appellate Opinions in Civil Cases", SCOTUSblog, 15 May 2009. Accessed 26 May
2009.
54. ^ N.G. ex rel. S.G. v. Connecticut, 382 F.3d. 225 (2d Cir. 2004)
55. ^ Leventhal v. Knapek, 266 F.3d 64 (2001)
56. ^ On a Supreme Court Prospect’s Résumé: ‘Baseball Savior’, The New York Times, May 14, 2009
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html?iref=mpstoryview. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
58. ^ Justices to Hear White Firefighters’ Bias Claims, The New York Times, April 9, 2009
59. ^ Clarett v. National Football League, 369 F.3d 124 (2004)
60. ^ Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp. (2000), 299 F.3d 374
61. ^ Krimstock v. Kelly, 306 F.3d 40
62. ^ Brody v. Village of Port Chester, 345 F.3d 103 (Second Circuit 2003)
63. ^ The Sotomayor Nomination, Forbes, May 26, 2009
64. ^ Sotomayor on Takings, Reason, May 26, 2009
Second Circuit. On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor for
appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter.[2][3] Sotomayor is
of Puerto Rican descent, and was born in the Bronx. Her father died when she was nine, and she
was raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with a B.A., Summa Cum Laude, from Princeton in
1976, and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law
Journal. She worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York for a time before entering private
practice in 1984. Considered a political centrist, Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed in
1992.
Sotomayor has ruled on several high profile cases. In 1995, she issued the preliminary injunction
against Major League Baseball which ended the 1994 Baseball Strike. Sotomayor made a ruling
allowing the Wall Street Journal to publish Vince Foster's suicide note. In 1997, she was nominated
by Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After more than a year, she was
confirmed and joined the court in 1998. Sotomayor was an Adjunct Professor at New York University
School of Law from 1998 to 2007 and has been a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School since
1999.
Prior to her selection by Obama, Sotomayor had been considered by both Democratic and
Republican presidents as a Supreme Court candidate. In 2005, Senate Democrats suggested
Sotomayor as a nominee to George W. Bush, who eventually selected Samuel A. Alito, Jr. There
was speculation that Sotomayor could be an Obama Supreme Court nominee prior to Justice
Souter's retirement announcement. This speculation only intensified after Souter's announcement
and when it was reported that she was on Obama's shortlist. On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated
Sotomayor to the court. If confirmed, she would be the court's first Latina justice.
•
Early life and family
Sotomayor was born in the Bronx borough of New York City.[4] Her father, Juan Sotomayor, a tool-
and-die worker with a third-grade education who did not speak English, was from the Santurce area
of San Juan.[4][5][6] Her mother, Celina Sotomayor, a nurse, was from the neighborhood of Santa
Rosa in Lajas, a still mostly rural area on Puerto Rico's southwest coast.[5] They left Puerto Rico,
met, and married during World War II after Celina served in the Women's Army Corps.[7]
Sonia was raised a Catholic[1] and grew up in the South Bronx, a short walk from Yankee Stadium.[8]
[9] In the 1960s the family moved to the Bronxdale Houses housing project and then to Co-op City,
both in the East Bronx.[7] Sonia was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age eight.[10][6] Her younger
brother is Juan Sotomayor, who is now a doctor in Syracuse, New York.[11]
Sonia's father died at age 42, in part from heart complications, when she was nine years old.[7] After
this was when Sonia first became fluent in English.[6] She was inspired to go into a legal career and
become a judge by watching the Perry Mason television series.[6] Sotomayor has credited her
mother as being her "life aspiration".[11]
On August 14, 1976, Sotomayor married Kevin Edward Noonan just after graduating Princeton
University.[4] She and Noonan divorced in 1983; they did not have children.[10]
Education and early legal career
Sotomayor's mother put great stress on the value of education, and bought the Encyclopædia
Britannica for her children, an unusual sight in the housing projects.[7] Sotomayor graduated as
valedictorian from the parochial Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx in 1972.[7] She earned
her A.B. from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude in 1976.[12] Sotomayor obtained
her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.[4]
Sotomayor then served as an Assistant District Attorney under prominent New York County District
Attorney Robert Morgenthau starting in 1979.[4] There she prosecuted robberies, assaults,
murders, police brutality, and child pornography cases.[4] In 1984, she entered private practice,
making partner at the commercial litigation firm of Pavia & Harcourt, where she specialized in
intellectual property litigation.[8][6][13]
Federal judicial service
She is considered a political centrist by the American Bar Association Journal[13][14] and other
sources and organizations.[10][6][13][14][15][16][17][18] Several lawyers, legal experts, and news
organizations also identify her as someone who has liberal inclinations.[19][20][21] Sotomayor was
nominated on November 27, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by John M. Walker, Jr. She became the
youngest judge in the Southern District[18] and the first Hispanic federal judge anywhere in New
York State.[22] Sotomayor was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1992, and
received her commission the next day.
Confirmation as Court of Appeals Judge
Sotomayor at a 2004 exhibit on the Fourteenth Amendment, Thurgood Marshall, and Brown v.
Board of Education, with circuit judges Robert A. Katzmann and Damon J. Keith.
On June 25, 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the seat she now holds, which was
vacated by J. Daniel Mahoney. Her nomination was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate
Judiciary Committee, but became "embroiled in the sometimes tortured judicial politics of the
Senate," as some Republicans said they did not want to consider the nomination because elevating
Sotomayor to the Appeals Court would enhance her prospects of being appointed to the Supreme
Court.[23][24] An anonymous senator put a secret hold on her nomination, blocking it for over a
year. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy called the length of the hold "disturbing," "petty," and
"shameful," also noting that at that time, "[o]f the 10 judicial nominees whose nominations have been
pending the longest before the Senate, eight are women and racial or ethnic minority candidates."
[25]
In 1998, several Hispanic organizations organized a petition drive in New York State, generating
hundreds of signatures from New Yorkers to try to convince New York Republican Senator Al
D'Amato to push the Senate leadership to bring Sotomayor's nomination to a vote.[26] Her
nomination had been pending for over a year when Majority Leader Trent Lott scheduled the vote.
Many Republicans, including then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and six other
Republicans who are still in the Senate today, voted for Sotomayor's confirmation to the Second
Circuit.[23] With solid Democratic support, and support from about half of Republicans, Sotomayor
was confirmed on October 2, 1998, in a 67-29 vote,[27] and she received her commission on
October 7.
Awards and honors
Sotomayor has received honorary degrees from Lehman College, Princeton University, Brooklyn
Law School, Pace University School of Law, Hofstra University,[28] and Northeastern University.[29]
She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2002.[29]
Other activities
While in private practice, Sotomayor was appointed in 1988 as one of the founding members of the
New York City Campaign Finance Board, where she served for four years.[30] She has also been a
member of the Board of Directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), the Puerto
Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the foundation then known as the Maternity Center
Association (now called Childbirth Connection).[31]
Sotomayor was an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law from 1998 to 2007 and
has been a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School since 1999.[31] She is a member of the Board of
Trustees of Princeton University and a longtime fan of the New York Yankees.[32]
Nomination to the United States Supreme Court
Obama and Sotomayor
Prior to her selection as President Barack Obama's nominee, Sotomayor had been regarded as a
potential Supreme Court nominee by several presidents, both Republican and Democratic.[13][33]
She could enjoy bipartisan support.[16][34][35] In July 2005, a number of Senate Democrats
suggested Sotomayor, among others, to President George W. Bush as a nominee acceptable to
them to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.[citation needed] The
seat was eventually filled by Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the Third Circuit.[citation needed]
Since Obama's election, there had been speculation that Sotomayor could be a leading candidate
for the Supreme Court seat of Justice David Souter, or for any opening on the Court during
Obama's term.[13][14][15][33][36][37][38] On April 9, 2009, New York Senators Charles Schumer
and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a joint letter to Obama urging him to appoint Sotomayor, or alternatively
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to the Supreme Court if a vacancy should arise on the Court during
his term.[39] On April 30, 2009 David Souter's retirement plans were leaked to the media, and
Sotomayor received early attention as a possible nominee for the seat to be vacated in June 2009.
[38] On May 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that Obama was considering Sotomayor,
among others, for possible appointment to the United States Supreme Court.[40] On May 26, 2009,
Obama nominated Sotomayor to the court.[41] If confirmed, this would make her the Supreme
Court's first Latina justice.[39][42][43][44] [45] She would also be the third woman to serve on the
Court, and the twelfth Roman Catholic, with her appointment giving the Court a record six Catholic
Justices.
Previous rulings
1994 baseball strike
On March 30, 1995, as a district judge, Sotomayor issued the preliminary injunction against Major
League Baseball, preventing MLB from unilaterally implementing a new Collective Bargaining
Agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling ended the 1994 baseball strike after 232
days, the day before the new season was scheduled to begin. The Second Circuit upheld
Sotomayor's decision and denied the owners' request to stay the ruling.[9][32][46]
Copyright
In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, freelance journalists sued the New York Times Company for
copyright infringement for the New York Times' inclusion in an electronic archival database
(LexisNexis) the work of freelancers it had published. Sotomayor (who was then a District Judge)
ruled that the publisher had the right to license the freelancer's work. This decision was reversed on
appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the reversal; two dissenters (John Paul Stevens and
Stephen Breyer) took Sotomayor's position.[47]
In Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Sotomayor ruled as a district judge
that a book of trivia from the television program Seinfeld infringed on the copyright of the show's
producer and did not constitute legal fair use. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit upheld Sotomayor's ruling.
Abortion
In Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush,[48] Sotomayor upheld the Bush administration's
implementation of the Mexico City Policy which requires foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds to
"neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations".
Sotomayor held that the policy did not constitute a violation of equal protection, as the government
"is free to favor the anti-abortion position over the pro-choice position, and can do so with public
funds".[49]
First Amendment rights
In Pappas v. Giuliani,[50] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ ruling that the NYPD could
terminate an employee from his desk job who sent racist materials through the mail. Sotomayor
argued that the First Amendment protected speech by the employee “away from the office, on [his]
own time,” even if that speech was “offensive, hateful, and insulting," and that therefore the
employee's First Amendment claim should have gone to trial rather than being dismissed on
summary judgment.
In Dow Jones v. Department of Justice,[51] Sotomayor sided with the Wall Street Journal in its efforts
to obtain and publish a photocopy of the suicide note of former White House Counsel Vince Foster.
Sotomayor ruled that the public had "a substantial interest" in viewing the note and enjoined the
Justice Department from blocking its release.
Second Amendment rights
Sotomayor was part of the three-judge Second Circuit panel that affirmed the district court's ruling in
Maloney v. Cuomo.[52] Maloney was arrested for possession of nunchakus, which are illegal in New
York; Maloney argued that this law violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Second
Circuit's per curiam opinion noted that the Supreme Court has not, so far, ever held that the Second
Amendment is binding against state governments. On the contrary, in Presser v. Illinois, a Supreme
Court case from 1886, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment "is a limitation only
upon the power of Congress and the national government, and not upon that of the state." With
respect to the Presser v. Illinois precedent, the panel stated that the recent Supreme Court case of
District of Columbia v. Heller (which struck down the district's gun ban as unconstitutional) "does not
invalidate this longstanding principle." Thus, the Second Circuit panel upheld the lower court's
decision dismissing Maloney's complaint.[53]
Fourth Amendment rights
In N.G. ex rel. S.G. v. Connecticut,[54] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ decision to uphold
a series of strip searches of “troubled adolescent girls” in juvenile detention centers. While
Sotomayor agreed that some of the strip searches at issue in the case were lawful, she would have
held that due to the “the severely intrusive nature of strip searches,” they should not be allowed “in
the absence of individualized suspicion, of adolescents who have never been charged with a crime.”
She argued that an "individualized suspicion" rule was more consistent with Second Circuit
precedent than the majority's rule.
In Leventhal v. Knapek[55], Sotomayor rejected a Fourth Amendment challenge by a Department of
Transportation employee whose employer searched his office computer. She held that “[e]ven
though [the employee] had some expectation of privacy in the contents of his office computer, the
investigatory searches by the DOT did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights” because here
“there were reasonable grounds for suspecting” the search would reveal evidence of “work-related
misconduct.”
Employment discrimination
Sotomayor was a member of a Second Circuit panel in a high-profile case that upheld without
significant comment a lower court decision backing the right of the City of New Haven to throw out its
promotional test for firefighters and start over with a new test, because the City believed the test had
a "disparate impact" on minority firefighters and it might therefore be subject to a lawsuit from
minority firefighters under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it certified the test results. (No
black firefighters qualified for promotion under the test, whereas some had qualified under tests
used in previous years.) Several white firefighters who had passed the test, including the lead
plaintiff who has dyslexia and had put much extra effort into studying, sued the City of New Haven,
claiming that their rights were violated because the test was thrown out. The case was recently
heard by the U.S. Supreme Court as Ricci v. DeStefano,[56][57][58] and a ruling has not yet been
issued.
Antitrust
In Clarett v. National Football League[59] Sotomayor upheld the NFL's eligibility rules requiring
players to wait three full seasons after high school graduation before entering the NFL draft.
Maurice Clarett challenged these rules, which were part of the collective bargaining agreement
between the NFL and its players, on antitrust grounds. Sotomayor held that Clarett's claim would
upset the established "federal labor law favoring and governing the collective bargaining process."
She wrote: "We follow the Supreme Court's lead in declining to 'fashion an antitrust exemption [so as
to give] additional advantages to professional football players . . . that transport workers, coal
miners, or meat packers would not enjoy.'"
Civil Rights
In Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp.[60], Sotomayor, writing for the court, supported the right
of an individual to sue a private corporation working on behalf of the federal government for alleged
violations of that individual's constitutional rights. Reversing a lower court decision, Sotomayor found
that an existing Supreme Court doctrine, known as "Bivens" — which allows suits against individuals
working for the federal government for constitutional rights violations — could be applied to the case
of a former prisoner seeking to sue the private company operating the federal halfway house facility
in which he resided. The Supreme Court reversed Sotomayor's ruling in a 5-4 decision, saying that
the Bivens doctrine could not be expanded to cover private entities working on behalf of the federal
government. Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented, siding with Sotomayor's
original ruling.
Property Rights
In Krimstock v. Kelly,[61], Sotomayor wrote an opinion halting New York City's practice of seizing the
motor vehicles of drivers accused of driving while intoxicated and some other crimes and holding
those vehicles for "months or even years" during criminal proceedings. Noting the importance of
cars to many individuals' livelihoods or daily activities, she held that it violated individuals' due
process rights to hold the vehicles without permitting the owners to challenge the City's continued
possession of their property.
In Brody v. Village of Port Chester, [62], a takings case, Sotomayor wrote an opinion remanding the
case to the district court for further proceedings on whether Brody had adequate notice of the
Village's condemnation proceedings against his property. (A related proceeding in the lower court
was called Didden v. Village of Port Chester. The case has drawn attention from conservative
commentators.[63][64])
References
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second Hispanic, depending on whether one counts Benjamin Cardozo)". The Daily News. 2009-05-01. http://www.nydailynews.
com/news/politics/2009/05/01/2009-05-01_president_obama_bronx_judge_sonia_sotomayor.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-03.
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46. ^ National Labor Relations Board v. Major League Baseball, 880 F. Supp. 246 (1995)
47. ^ Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases, CNN.com, 26 May 2009. Accessed 26 May 2009.
48. ^ Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002)
49. ^ Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush.
50. ^ Pappas v. Giuliani, 290 F.3d 143 (2d Cir. 2002)
51. ^ Dow Jones v. Department of Justice, 880 F. Supp. 145 (S.D.N.Y. 1995)
52. ^ Maloney v. Cuomo, 554 F.3d 56 (2009)
53. ^ Tom Goldstein, "Judge Sotomayor’s Appellate Opinions in Civil Cases", SCOTUSblog, 15 May 2009. Accessed 26 May
2009.
54. ^ N.G. ex rel. S.G. v. Connecticut, 382 F.3d. 225 (2d Cir. 2004)
55. ^ Leventhal v. Knapek, 266 F.3d 64 (2001)
56. ^ On a Supreme Court Prospect’s Résumé: ‘Baseball Savior’, The New York Times, May 14, 2009
57. ^ "Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/26/sotomayor.resume/index.
html?iref=mpstoryview. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
58. ^ Justices to Hear White Firefighters’ Bias Claims, The New York Times, April 9, 2009
59. ^ Clarett v. National Football League, 369 F.3d 124 (2004)
60. ^ Malesko v. Correctional Services Corp. (2000), 299 F.3d 374
61. ^ Krimstock v. Kelly, 306 F.3d 40
62. ^ Brody v. Village of Port Chester, 345 F.3d 103 (Second Circuit 2003)
63. ^ The Sotomayor Nomination, Forbes, May 26, 2009
64. ^ Sotomayor on Takings, Reason, May 26, 2009
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listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
The opinions and information provided within the Applaud Women publication or on the Applaud Women website are not necessarily those of Applaud Women, it's officers, staff or
contributing writers. Nor does inclusion on ApplaudWomen.com constitute endorsement of the views, products, services or informational content contained within the publication, advertising
on found anywhere on the website. Applaud Women values accuracy; however, Applaud Women does not warranty the accuracy of material provided by it's writers, advertisers or any
information provided by other sources included on the website.
No reproduction of any part of this page or any other page on the website is permitted without the express permission of Applaud Women.
contributing writers. Nor does inclusion on ApplaudWomen.com constitute endorsement of the views, products, services or informational content contained within the publication, advertising
on found anywhere on the website. Applaud Women values accuracy; however, Applaud Women does not warranty the accuracy of material provided by it's writers, advertisers or any
information provided by other sources included on the website.
No reproduction of any part of this page or any other page on the website is permitted without the express permission of Applaud Women.
The Applaud Women publication is dedicated to women in New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. It's purpose is to inspire, inform, and
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
The opinions and information provided within the Applaud Women publication or on the Applaud Women website are not necessarily those of Applaud Women, it's officers, staff or
contributing writers. Nor does inclusion on ApplaudWomen.com constitute endorsement of the views, products, services or informational content contained within the publication, advertising
on found anywhere on the website. Applaud Women values accuracy; however, Applaud Women does not warranty the accuracy of material provided by it's writers, advertisers or any
information provided by other sources included on the website.
No reproduction of any part of this page or any other page on the website is permitted without the express permission of Applaud Women.
contributing writers. Nor does inclusion on ApplaudWomen.com constitute endorsement of the views, products, services or informational content contained within the publication, advertising
on found anywhere on the website. Applaud Women values accuracy; however, Applaud Women does not warranty the accuracy of material provided by it's writers, advertisers or any
information provided by other sources included on the website.
No reproduction of any part of this page or any other page on the website is permitted without the express permission of Applaud Women.