A New Look Court


Yesterday, in a historic moment, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice, and the third woman justice. This is an important moment for two reasons. One is the ethnic diversity, which she represents and also the gender diversity. Of course, she adds to the Catholic majority on the court, but hey, two out of three isn't bad!

In spite of her appointment, the Supreme Court remains largely white and male. This is in part due to the nature of a court that has lifetime appointment -- there's not a lot of opportunity to make appointments. It's possibly due, though necessarily, to the party that has been in power when appointments have been made.

Now, ideologically the court has changed much. Sotomayor's positions are likely be similar to those of the justice she's replacing. Indeed, unless one of the recent GOP appointed justices retires early, the balance between the "left" and "right" wings of the Court won't change much. I expect that we'll see over the next few years a change out on the more liberal end of the court, but that still won't change things much. Anthony Kennedy will remain the "swing vote." But, having a new voice on the court, one that is female and of a different ethnic group, will provide a different sensibility.

For those who deride empathy -- a standard that Sotomayor didn't seem to adopt for herself-- or suggest that she is some kind of judicial activist, I want to again note that the idea of strict constructionist literalism simply doesn't work. Even as biblical scholars and preachers must interpret the text to apply Scripture to the modern world, taking into consideration one's own life situatioin, so must the justices.

So, for instance, when it comes to the 2nd Amendment, is adding a little regulation and limitation to the kinds of weapons or who can own them out of line? I simply don't think that the framers envisioned the plethora of weapons that might come under the purview of this amendment. So, if they were to write that amendment today, would they put in some protections for the public such as limiting the kinds of guns one might possess?

What is interesting is that by and large most of the Senators who voted against her confirmation, recognized that her rulings were mainstream and that she is eminently qualified for this job. So, they made their decisions on political grounds. That's understandable, it just needs to be acknowledged.

Now that she has been confirmed, may we celebrate her accomplishment!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was thinking about "empathy" today..and I can't help but feel there is a major double standard. If I criticize Obama's plan - well I am conservative, Christian, white, male.... therefore I am clearly racist or at least against minorities and I am being self serving. On the flip side, its perfectly acceptable for a minority to use their background to push through an agenda that may favor their ethnic group. Or simply.. if I use my "white male" experience to made a decision, I am racist. If a hispanic woman uses her experience, then its enriching and encouraging.
I may not be making a lot of sense..but basically it feels like any position I take that isn't overly sympathetic to a minority view is biased. If a minority takes a view that would damage the majority, then they are lifted up. Not sure how to reconcile these issues.
Chuck
Robert Cornwall said…
It's not an issue of whether one is white, male, or whatever. I'm white, male, educated, etc.

My concern is that for the most part positions of power are held by white males. Without other voices in the mix, we are impoverished. It's not as if white males or whites in general don't have a voice, they have a significant voice. Why not celebrate the inclusion of others into the conversation. I think we'll be richer for it!

On the question of empathy, my greater concern is with those who say there is no place for empathy. I have a problem with this -- because if you consult the dictionary you discover to not have empathy is a sign of mental illness.

Hopefully all our judges have a bit of empathy and can walk in the shoes of another. That's what I'm trying to do was I celebrate with our new justice.
Anonymous said…
The high court should be an alloy of the people. She fits in fine. No one's judging you Chuck. Use all your power to do good as you see fit. David Mc

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