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The Case Against Sotomayor (from liberal columnist)
The New Republic ^ | May 5, 2009 | Jeffrey Rosen

Posted on 05/05/2009 8:14:25 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued

The most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer, was "not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench," as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it. "She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren't penetrating and don't get to the heart of the issue." (During one argument, an elderly judicial colleague is said to have leaned over and said, "Will you please stop talking and let them talk?") Second Circuit judge Jose Cabranes, who would later become her colleague, put this point more charitably in a 1995 interview with The New York Times: "She is not intimidated or overwhelmed by the eminence or power or prestige of any party, or indeed of the media."

Her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees. It's customary, for example, for Second Circuit judges to circulate their draft opinions to invite a robust exchange of views. Sotomayor, several former clerks complained, rankled her colleagues by sending long memos that didn't distinguish between substantive and trivial points, with petty editing suggestions--fixing typos and the like--rather than focusing on the core analytical issues.

Some former clerks and prosecutors expressed concerns about her command of technical legal details: In 2001, for example, a conservative colleague, Ralph Winter, included an unusual footnote in a case suggesting that an earlier opinion by Sotomayor might have inadvertently misstated the law in a way that misled litigants. The most controversial case in which Sotomayor participated is Ricci v. DeStefano, the explosive case involving affirmative action in the New Haven fire department, which is now being reviewed by the Supreme Court. A panel including Sotomayor ruled against the firefighters

(Excerpt) Read more at tnr.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bho44; bhojudicialnominees; bhoscotus; scotus; sotomayor
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1 posted on 05/05/2009 8:14:26 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
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To: neverdem; Impy; zendari; Norman Bates; BillyBoy; fieldmarshaldj; metmom

I never expected such a column from Rosen, who has called on Obama to appoint a Supreme Court judge who would assert liberal leadership as Earl Warren and William Brennan did during the 1960’s.

The link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/opinion/02rosen.html

Sotomayer’s chances may be fading.


2 posted on 05/05/2009 8:16:55 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued (The McCain/Palin ticket was like a Kangaroo, stronger on the bottom than at the top)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Why is this woman a judge in the first place? It’s obvious she can’t do the job and is a control freak to compensate.


3 posted on 05/05/2009 8:21:28 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

She is not an intelligent jurist. Certainly, the Supreme Court has not always been graced with scholarly minds interested in the Constitution, but at least we should try. It does matter after all.


4 posted on 05/05/2009 8:22:19 PM PDT by Bahbah (v)
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To: Clintonfatigued

“She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren’t penetrating and don’t get to the heart of the issue.”

Sounds just like el presidente.


5 posted on 05/05/2009 8:24:39 PM PDT by Winstons Julia
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To: Clintonfatigued

What is interesting to see is that the liberals are acting the way they accuse the conservatives of acting. Which just proves the point that liberals when they raise objections, raise them because that’s what THEY would do. They project their own strategies onto everyone else and think they are doing what they themselves would do.

Also this will not be a case to find anyone really qualified. The criteria is to find a judge that counter-weighs the conservative justices. This is apparently the paramount issue to the libs (no kidding, but they admit it).

Counter-weighing the conservative justices is not a constitutional mandate. Generally the makeup of the court as it stood recently was 4 liberals, 4 conservatives, and Souter. Souter is gone, now they need a liberal to balance the 4 conservatives? How about putting up a conservative to balance the 4 liberals? If they already had 5 liberals, would they be calling for a conservative to balance the majority of liberals on the court? Or does the hypocrisy flag fly high when they admit things must only be balanced when they want more liberals on the court?

These people are destroying the US justice system. Hate speech. Hate crimes. Protected classes violating the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. It is sickening.


6 posted on 05/05/2009 8:31:04 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Sounds like an affirmative action law school grad, just like the prez.


7 posted on 05/05/2009 8:33:05 PM PDT by jtal
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To: Clintonfatigued

My shock was this judge was appointed by Bush 41.


8 posted on 05/05/2009 8:34:36 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: Bahbah

Harry Reid thinks we should nominate a common man or senator instead of a jurist.... sounded like he was auditioning for the job... ~LOL~


9 posted on 05/05/2009 8:35:35 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: Arizona Carolyn

Bush 41 was not a true conservative.


10 posted on 05/05/2009 8:47:32 PM PDT by Palladin (Waterboard Nancy Pelosi!)
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To: Eric Blair 2084

I’m wondering how far Obama’s empathy will go with regards to this judge.


11 posted on 05/05/2009 8:50:20 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued (The McCain/Palin ticket was like a Kangaroo, stronger on the bottom than at the top)
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To: Clintonfatigued
If she is willing to take a crap on the Constitution in order to help the stupid, poor, sick and infirm and legislate from the bench than she is halfway home to a nomination. Let's take a look at the rest of the checklist.....


12 posted on 05/05/2009 9:05:36 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shouldn't be a federal agency...it should be a convenience store.)
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To: Palladin

Clearly he never was, which is why he was out after his first term.


13 posted on 05/05/2009 9:14:04 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: Secret Agent Man
Generally the makeup of the court as it stood recently was 4 liberals, 4 conservatives, and Souter.

The way most people saw it, it was 4 liberals (including Souter), 4 reliable conservatives, and Kennedy, who leaned toward conservatism but was a frequent "defector." It's generally thought that Obama's appointee will tend to vote the way Souter would have. As a result, this retirement will have little effect on the Court's ideological balance.
14 posted on 05/05/2009 10:20:23 PM PDT by Eagle Forgotten
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To: Palladin; Arizona Carolyn

“Bush 41 was not a true conservative.”

Nor was 43.


15 posted on 05/06/2009 12:10:40 PM PDT by Impy (RED=COMMUNIST, NOT REPUBLICAN)
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To: Clintonfatigued; BillyBoy; fieldmarshaldj; AuH2ORepublican

Sotomayar is a modern day G. Harold Carswell. (that is if it wasn’t a lie that he was “mediocre”)


16 posted on 05/06/2009 12:12:42 PM PDT by Impy (RED=COMMUNIST, NOT REPUBLICAN)
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To: Impy

He was better than his idiot dad.


17 posted on 05/06/2009 12:14:18 PM PDT by Palladin (Waterboard Nancy Pelosi!)
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To: Palladin; rabscuttle385; sickoflibs

“He was better than his idiot dad.”

Hmm, that’s debatable. Both of them were big government Republicans who handed DC to the democrats on a silver platter.

Is herpes better than warts?


18 posted on 05/06/2009 12:19:30 PM PDT by Impy (RED=COMMUNIST, NOT REPUBLICAN)
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To: Impy; Palladin; rabscuttle385; sickoflibs
RE :”GWB was better than his idiot dad.

No way. 16 years ago we were coming out of a mild recession and ex-president Bush was generally liked and respected (key=respected) and it didnt take long like months before that general public was unhappy with democrats and Clinton.

GWB is extremely disliked and disrespected and because his NAME was associated with capitalism with tax cuts, gave both a bad name. Let's say his Dad could only do so much damage because he had a democrat congress. GWB got a blank check with a R congress and Sept 11 so he used it to mess up as much as he could, and brand capitalism, republican and conservatives as bad things.

19 posted on 05/06/2009 12:41:34 PM PDT by sickoflibs (Obama /Pelosi/Bush Theme : "A dollar borrowed or printed is a dollar earned!")
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To: Impy

~LOL~ I think that goes without saying.


20 posted on 05/06/2009 1:50:20 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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