Sotomayor Disappoints on Race

Daisy Hernandez

Sotomayor Disappoints on Race

I want to love La Sonia but…NPR’s Nina Totenberg has the disturbing details on the future Supreme Court judge’s voting record. Sigh.

In another case involving a black couple bumped from an American Airlines international flight, Sotomayor said their race discrimination claim was clearly trumped by an international treaty governing airline rules. It matters not, she said, that her ruling might mean airlines could discriminate on a wholesale basis and that there would be no legal recourse. The treaty’s language is clear and it is not for the courts to make policy, she said, adding that if policy is to be changed, Congress or federal agencies must do it.

Posted at 11:52 AM, Jun 05, 2009 in Permalink | View Comments

Comments

WOW...never, EVER thought I would say this, but if this is as bad as she gets, I am NOT disappointed. I see her constitutional/international law point, and I think she is wise to tread so carefully. It's one thing to hold folks accountable for addressing the impacts of structural racism; it's another to hold their feet to the flame every time they are less righteous than Martin Luther King Jr in the Birmingham jail.

Posted by: Susan Starr | June 5, 2009 7:30 PM

So a judge not enacting legislation by judicial fiat is disturbing? What a pathetic opinion. The legislature is for enacting laws. Duh! You are no wise Latina.

Posted by: Zylonet | June 7, 2009 8:57 AM

I like her as long as the Right is in such an uproar about her nomination ... apparently she's "biased" lol

Posted by: Luc Le Duc | June 7, 2009 11:25 AM