U.S. Supreme Court Nominee

The 'Empathy' Nominee, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124338457658756731.html. 27 May 2009.

The word that gets the closest to this authors tone in this reading is skepticism. The author's view on Judge Sotomayor is that her idealogy has nothing do with the law but rather her background. The article brings up that when Judge Sotomayor said, "I am . . . not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, . . . there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." She set the agenda that she will base her decisions on cases based on her life rather than her interpretation of the law and how this will effect her decisions on the Supreme Court. The article uses two cases that she had heard in her lower court that have been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court such as, Riverkeeper v. EPA and Merrill Lynch v. Dabit. The article also brings to light her ruling on Ricci v. DeStefano. The author is also scared that she will rule in favor of minority groups instead of ruling in a fair and just way. I think this author feels that she was not nominated because of her merit and accomplishments but because she fit the President's " ideal match for his view that personal experience and cultural identity are the better part of judicial wisdom." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124338457658756731.html).