Thursday, May 07, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court

Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple of days but my work has taken me away...Stiles Points returns today, but not with a sports related issue...instead the topic deals with Barack Obama's nominee to replace Justice David Souter (photo, left) on the Supreme Court...

I have a penchant for following the make-up of the Supreme Court since my master's thesis dealt with this judicial body...talk has been rampant that Obama will select a woman as Souter's replacement...currently, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the only woman on the high court...

Through all my studies, I personally believe the Supreme Court should be comprised of men and women of various races and creeds - not that of a select few...but that has never happened...as president, Obama will more than likely have the rare opportunity in selecting three new Justices on the Supreme Court...it is assumed that Ginsberg will soon be retiring and Justice John P
aul Stevens is in his late 80s...

With this opportunity, Obama can be the first president to have a truly diverse Supreme Court...historically, white males has been the choice...there has been two black males and two white women...the time has come to expand...

Obama needs to select a Hispanic person for this post...many don't realize the Hispanic population is this country's largest minority, even more than African-Americans...that is why he should nominate Sonia Sotomayor, Justice, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit...

Sotomayor grew up in a Bronx housing development...she was diagnosed with diabetes at age 8...she earned her A.B. from Princeton University in 1976, where she won the Pyne Prize, the highest general award given to Princeton undergraduates...she then obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal...Sotomayor should win over conservatives as she once worked to "put away the bad guys" as New York County Assistant District Attorney...

At this time the Supreme Court needs another female perspective...and it needs another "minority" other than African-American...Sotomayor more than fits this bill and should breeze through the process...

In the future, Obama must consider nominating an Asian-American and a Native-American...but that is for another day...

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