A Conversation With Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-01-30/conversation-supreme-court-justice-sonia-sotomayor
Ever since Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009, people have been as curious about her personal story as her views on the law and the courts. Children with diabetes want to know about her experiences living with the disease. Others ask how she coped with losing her father at a young age. Minority students wonder whether she has experienced discrimination and how she stays connected to her community. In a new memoir titled "My Beloved World," Sotomayor describes how adversity has spurred her on instead of knocking her down. Diane talks with Justice Sotomayor about the sources of her hope and optimism, and the value of holding on to far-fetched dreams.
Guests
Sonia Sotomayor
associate justice, Supreme Court of the United States.
Related Items
Slideshow: Justice Sonia Sotomayor Through The Years
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Read An Excerpt
Excerpt from "My Beloved World" by Sonia Sotomayor. Copyright 2013 by Sonia Sotomayor. Reprinted by permission of Knopf, a division of RandomHouse, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced orreprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Comments
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I have a few questions for the Justice
#1 Do you agree with Justice Ruth Ginsberg that the U.S. Constitution as a whole is outdated and irrelevant in 2013?
#2 As a proponent of the "living Constitution", is this in your mind an intellectual free pass on not upholding or respecting the existing Constitution.
#2 As a liberal democrat, is circumventing our Constitution to favor collective rights over personal rights a major goal of your tenure?
#3 In your opinion is the desire for a pure democracy (mob rule) in the democratic party a noble goal and superior to the concept of a democratic republic?
#4 Considering your oath is to uphold the Constitution, do you feel any guilt when you seek to undermine it?
Having now been through hearings with her fellow justices, has any of her initial impressions of them changed at all? How has being on the Supreme Court impacted her life since her appointment?
Dan D,
You do realize that different people have different interpretations of the Constitution, do you not? As a matter of fact, that has been a source of much debate throughout the history of the U.S. Just because someone's interpretation differs from your own doesn't mean that person is trying to "undermine" it. Grow up and learn to make intellectual arguments rather than attacking others' characters.
Thank you for this wonderful interview. My daughter had the wonderful experience of meeting Justice Sotomayor after the Supreme Court Christmas Party. Justice Sotomayor took the time to meet Elisabeth and have a conversation in her private office, ending with a wonderful photo. She is my daughter's definition of a rock star. Elisabeth is on The Hill, entry level with a Master's degree. She knows she has to pay her dues. By nature Elisabeth is a polite, reserved and positive person. She is also very educated and passionate about her field, Foreign Affairs, Security. What advice can you give a person with her personality, finding her voice and yet remain who she is by nature? Elisabeth expresses he opinion when she feels she can add to the conversation. Breathe in her lungs does not mean she has to speak. Such a gift. When she does speak there are times she is called an idiot or ignored because of her optimism and her polite nature! Thank you from a mom looking for such a wonderful role model, as yourself!
As a Mexican-American, growing up in this country, I'd like to know how you view today's opportunities for Hispanics. Are they any different from your father's opportunities, any different from your opportunities? Thank you for exposing yourself and your inspiring stories.
I am so inspired by Justice Sotomayor!
My daughter is 16, hispanic, and has type 1 diabetes. She is president of her class, a debater, vice president of Model UN and an aspiring attorney. My best friend is taking her to see the Justice in Miami on Friday. I am so excited about her seeing this great woman in person.
Please, Diane.....allow her to speak to the parents of diabetics. She was about to. Her revealing autobiography has, I believe, the riveted attention of this isolated community of grieving caregivers. Does she have wisdom for us?
I am an ESL teacher and many of the Justice's experiences seem familiar to me. I'd like to add that there are many native speakers in that school who also lack the same background knowledge -- for example, knowledge of children's classics -- as she had. I am a first generation college graduate and my experience was the same: my parents did the best they could (and bought the World Book Encyclopedia for me). The best her mother and my parents did for me was to teach perseverance and a love of learning.
Margaret Zukas
Towson, MD
Dear Madame Justice,
I am a fellow Spellman classmate.
I remember you attending our women's basketball games and I remember playing intramurals and attending student council meetings with you.
I had the good fortune of briefly meeting you again , along with Marian McTague, about 10 days ago at your book signing at GWU.
I will tell you that my pride in your accomplishments is echoed by so many of your Spellman classmates, class of 1972. You are a frequent topic of conversation.
You will see many of them at your HOSTAS lecture in the Bronx this Saturday.
Godspeed, Sonia
Mary Powell Tenety , Cardinal Spellman HS, Class of 1972
I was wondering if the book is or will be available in Spanish?
I wanted to thank you for taking the time to appear on Sesame Street. I live that my children had the chance to see a real role model! Thank you!
I have family and close friends from every populated continent in the world. Justice, your description of landing in a different universe when you went to Princeton was apt. I have landed in many new universes. But I have to take an exception to your saying that you felt like everyone else knew more than you did. They knew different than you did not more. In your line of work, the different things that you know give you an understanding of humanity that you can not get from reading books or memorizing five new words a day. I thank God for people like you who know different things.
To Dan. D.
The phrasing of your question equating democracy to mob rule comes straight out of the fundamentalist vision that freedom is equal to totally free markets and that individual liberty is defined by not only freedom from government but rule by “natural markets”. Our founding fathers understood that there would be tension between the rich and powerful and the will of the many. So when conservatives use the term “living Constitution” they imply that somehow our founding fathers adhered to the idea of unregulated markets. Madison spoke to this. Post modern conservatism is nothing more than the continuing power grab by the rich and powerful. Case in point, the almost universal acceptance that money is equal to free speech among conservatives. I suggest you read Alex Marshall.
Diane:
Please let Justice Sotomayor know that I enjoyed her recent book "My Beloved World". It is so poignant and insightful. It provides immense encouragement for underprivileged youngsters everywhere. As an attorney I also appreciate your thoughtful court opinions. You provide the much needed balance on the US Supreme Court. Thank you.
David C. Chan
Jeff Evans wrote: "You do realize that different people have different interpretations of the Constitution, do you not?'
Yeah, their called liars.
If you look real close at the bible in the photograph above in the swearing in ceremony, you might be able to see it dripping. Not many people know this, but it is common practice to soak Bibles in water before swearing in democrats. There have been numerous occasions where the Bibles have burst into flames.
Ladyingreen wrote: "So when conservatives use the term “living Constitution” they imply that somehow our founding fathers adhered to the idea of unregulated markets."
"living Constitution" is purely a liberal democrat invention. Since you did not know that and now you do, I would suggest you reevaluate your response..
Dan D.,
By default you believe in a "dead" Constitution. Do you really suppose the founders intended the document to be frozen in time along with all its tenets? If so, then explain why the founders wrote into the Constitution ways of modifying it and why modifications actually ocurred early in its history.
Our Constitution is alive and well and, thankfully, in the care of scholars and fellow human beings like Justice Sotomayor.
Note that the vast majority of Democrats are believers in a Creator, whether she is defined in a specifc book or other......the Bible being just one of those. Swearing on a book or crossing one's heart or spitting in the dirt or even a pinky-swear is merely an artifice that shows the intent of the oath taker.......NO guarantee of anything. Note the bogus oaths taken by conservative politicians when they swear to protect their constituents; otherwise their pants would burst into those very flames you mentioned.
Honest?Abe wrote: "By default you believe in a "dead" Constitution. Do you really suppose the founders intended the document to be frozen in time along with all its tenets?"
No need to go any further. The founders gave us the amendment process which has been used successfully many times. So yes the Constitution can be changed. Liberal justices have a long history of circumventing the Constitution for popular opinion and avoiding the amendment process because they know they will not get them through, the states will not accept the liberal progressive arguments to amend the Constitution.
You know this why are you playing dumb?