Judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York Nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court

The real questions are only now beginning to be asked. What kind of Justice would she be? What is her judicial philosophy?

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - She was born on June 25, 1954 in New York to two Puerto Rican parents and grew up in the Bronx. She seems to have stepped right out of "central casting." Her life is a compelling story of a girl who grew up in tough circumstances but believed in the American dream. She has certainly fulfilled that dream in her legal career. It is filled with notable achievements.

Her colleagues, including Stephen L. Carter of the Yale Law School, extolled her in interviews throughout the day. Carter is prolific but is probably most known for his book entitled "The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion", a thoughtful defense of the role of religious expression and the religious speaker.

She currently sits on the 2d Circuit Court of Appeals, having assumed that place on the Federal Appellate Bench in 1998 after being appointed by former President Bill Clinton. Prior to that she was a U.S. Federal District Court Judge from 1992 - 1998, a post to which she was nominated by the first President Bush.She has been a prosecuting attorney and a private practitioner of her profession. By all accounts she is bright, hard working and affable.

Not only did she excel at Yale Law School from which she graduated in 1979, but she was the Editor of the Law Review while a student there. She came to that prestigious Law School from Princeton. Those who have worked for her and with her commend her and they speak well of her.

There is no doubt that her confirmation to the Supreme Court would be historic, the first Hispanic member of the Bench and only the third woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Over the next 90 days, we will hear a lot about Judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York. When President Barack Obama presented her as his first nominee to the Court, to fill the seat of Justice David Souter who recently announced his retirement, she first honored her mother and then told her compelling life story to a packed room full of eager reporters.

The Puerto Rican and broader Hispanic community in the United States is understandably proud. However, the real questions are only now beginning to be asked. What kind of Justice would she be? What is her judicial philosophy? The quick criticisms and equally quick praises were to be expected. This is a polarized time in our Nation. However, their intensity leaves no doubt that everyone knows the importance of this appointment.

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Her decisions are being reviewed and the opinion pieces are flying. Everyone is looking for clues. Talk Radio is abuzz. The proponents of a strict constructionist legal philosophy have made it clear, she is not their choice.

She has no real record on the fundamental human rights issue of our age, the Right to Life. The only "abortion related" case in which she was involved the Mexico City policy under the prior administration. That Pro-life policy was being challenged at the time by by Anti-Right to Life activists. The Judge supported the Bush administrations' right to promote the policy. The underlying result is now moot of course because the President who just nominated her reversed the Policy by Executive order and expanded abortions around the world.

Finally, Judge Sotomayor is a Catholic. The latest from the White House seems to indicate she may be a 'lapsed' Catholic. Whether she practices her faith or not is as of yet unclear. Then, if she does, whether she understands that the Churches unqualified defense of the dignity of every human life (including those human lives in the first home their mothers womb) is not simply a "religious" position but is rooted in the Natural Law, confirmed by science and must be defended by all Catholics is even more unclear.

We have placed several perspectives on the nomination underneath this article for our readers. We will be watching the unfolding events with great interest.

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