Sotomayor Meets And Greets Senators

By Annie Berman-Talk Radio News Service

Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor met today with ten U.S. Senators on Capitol Hill in the unofficial first step of her confirmation process.

“I asked her about the wise Latina statement,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in reference to controversial statements Sotomayor made at Berkley in 2001 in which she implied that her experience as a Latina would give her better insight into legal decisions than a white male. According to Durbin, she said ‘it’s just one part of me.  I’m many different things.”

Sotomayor and Durbin talked about their similar backgrounds, Sotomayor’s education and experience as a litigator.  The Senator commented that he was “very impressed” by her qualifications.  

The meetings began at 10 o’clock this morning with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Sotomayor Represents Hopes And Dreams Of Hispanic Community

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

Raised by a single parent and a product of the New York public school system who eventually went on to graduate from Princeton and Yale Law School, Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor’s story resonates with many Americans. She was able to overcome obstacles and elevate her status in society through hard work.However, Sotomayor’s nomination was important for another reason. She is the first Hispanic judge to be nominated to the nation’s highest court.

“Now to see a Latina nominated to the Supreme Court, we believe this is a great step forward for America,” said Jimmy Reina of the Hispanic Bar Association, which represents 100,000 Hispanics in the legal profession, today at a press conference praising the Sotomayor’s nomination. Reina said that having a Hispanic on the Supreme Court would bring an increased amount of “trust and confidence in the legitimacy in the United States justice system” because her nomination demonstrates to all minorities that the system is equal and fair to all.

Brent Wilkes of the League of United Latin American Citizens said that “she is an absolutely brilliant jurist who will serve the nation well, and she is the first Latino/a nominated to the Supreme Court breaking a glass ceiling that for our community has been very troublesome over many decades.”

Roel Campos, the former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, and first Latino to hold this position, commented on the importance of having a minority in such a high position. “I was the first Hispanic Commissioner of the SEC and it makes a difference. It sends a message that America is moving forward,” said Campos.

None of the speakers believed that Sotomayor would face serious trouble that would jeopardize her confirmation because she received bi-partisan support during her previous confirmation hearings.

Wilkes gave a stern warning to any Republicans who would stand in the way of her confirmation because of “the length of time the Latino population has waited for this nomination it has been a long time, and the hopes and aspirations are all tied up in this nominee and the last thing they want to do is dash those hopes.”

Obama Names Sotomayor As Supreme Court Justice

By Annie Berman, Talk Radio News Service

Today at the White House, President Obama announced federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor as the widely-anticipated replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic woman to serve on the bench, and the third woman in history.

A native of New York, Sotomayor, 54, was born to Puerto Rican parents. After her father died she was raised in a single family household.

Sotomayor attended Princeton University where she graduated summa cum laude in 1976. Later, she attended Yale Law School where she was the editor of The Yale Law Journal.

After graduation from law school in 1979, Sotomayor served as an Assistant District Attorney to New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. In 1997, Sotomayer was nominated by President Bill Clinton to her current position.

Sotomayer’s most famous case was the 1994 baseball strike. Sotomayer issued the preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball which prevented the MLB from implementing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling in this case ended the strike one day before the 1995 season.

Obama had only praise for Sotomayor. “Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system, providing her with a depth of experience and a breadth of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice,” he said. Obama added that he hopes Sotomayor may begin her tenure with the court when it begins its term in October.  

After Obama spoke, Sotomayor thanked her mother and brother for their support, and the President for the nomination. “I chose to be a lawyer and ultimately a judge because I find endless challenge in the complexities of the law.”  

Sotomayor now faces a daunting confirmation process with the U.S. Senate. 

Top Court: Ashcroft, Mueller Not Liable For Muslim Civil Rights Violations

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

Shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government allowed law enforcement officials to arrest people of “high interest” according to race, religion, or national origin, according to Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani citizen who was placed in a maximum-security prison in early 2002.

Iqbal claimed that the government’s decision violated his civil rights and he sued former U.S. Attorney General John Aschcroft and Robert Mueller, then-Director of the FBI.

Today, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, ruled against Iqbal.

Kennedy wrote that Iqbal’s initial filings did not provide enough information to automatically find Ashcroft and Mueller responsible for the abuses he suffered while being held.

The case will now return to the lower courts, where Iqbal may have a chance to substantiate his claim that he was subjected to harsh conditions on account of his religion and nationality, and that Ashcroft and Mueller were the “principle architects” of this plan.

Four Justices dissented, and in an opinion written by Justice Souter agreed with the lower courts' findings that Ashcroft and Mueller did violate his civil rights and could therefore be held responsible.

SCOTUS: Pregnancy Payment Not Retroactive

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

Global telecommunication corporation AT&T’s pension policy before 1978 was a seniority system, which was achieved through years of service, but women were precluded from gaining as much seniority as their male counterparts because of the time they took on pregnancy leave.

In 1978 Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and AT&T complied with this new ruling, and adjusted their pension policy accordingly.

After this law came into effect, the question arose as to whether women who already retired would benefit from this new calculation.

Today, in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court decided the Title VII, which prevents pregnancy discrimination, does not require AT&T to recalculate the pensions, so AT&T was within its rights to not retroactively pay employees for their loss of pay.

Justice David Souter wrote the majority opinion, and in regard to Title VII, “There is no such clear intent here, indeed, no indication at all that Congress had retroactive application in mind, the evidence points the other way.”

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and John Paul Stevens dissented. Ginsberg wrote that “AT&T committed a current violation of Title VII when it did not totally discontinue reliance upon a pension calculation premised on the notion that pregnancy-based classification display no gender bias.”