OPINION:

Upbringing works in judicial nominee’s favor

Harry Reid

Sunday, June 7, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Washington — A summer dust storm. A one-room schoolhouse. A 46-mile hitchhike to get to school.

These are just some of the experiences that shaped me as a person, and by extension, as a senator for Nevada. Few would argue Abraham Lincoln’s childhood in a log cabin did not shape his character as a future president, or Madeleine Albright’s upbringing in war-torn Czechoslovakia did not influence her future as secretary of state.

President Barack Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, has an incredible background and has overcome significant challenges to get to where she is today.

Sotomayor grew up in the South Bronx in New York in a family that had moved from Puerto Rico after World War II. At age 8, she was diagnosed with diabetes. A year later her father died and her mother raised her alone on a nurse’s salary. Sotomayor went on to Princeton and Yale Law School. She rose through the ranks of the legal profession, building one of the most extensive resumes any jurist or legal scholar could wish for.

She has been appointed to the federal bench by Republican and Democratic presidents. She has participated in more than 3,000 decisions since she joined the Second Circuit Court and has written 400 opinions. If confirmed, she would bring more experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years.

As a lawyer, I was impressed with her encyclopedic knowledge of case law and her sharp skills for insightful analysis during our recent meeting. As a person, I could relate to the woman sitting across from me — we both rose from improbable circumstances to our current positions.

I was born in a desert town to a hard rock miner and a mother who washed clothes for a living. I was educated in a school so tiny it either discouraged you from aspiring to anything or made you appreciate the true value of every opportunity in life. Searchlight, where I still live, is very different from the Senate, but it is synonymous with my background.

I am not alone. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, an Italian-American, concurs with this philosophy.

“When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account,” Alito said during his confirmation hearing.

So when Sonia Sotomayor talks about growing up as a Latina in 1960s New York, or being one of a handful of Hispanics in Princeton, it should not be interpreted as a bias. Rather, it is indicative of the insightful perspective she will bring to the High Court as she works to uphold the Constitution.

As I talked with Judge Sotomayor this past Tuesday and remembered my own childhood, I realized I was sitting across from a person who took hardship and turned it into the anvil that shaped her character.

Isn’t that what quintessential American stories are about?

Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, is majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By vmanstuff

6/7/09 at 9:42 p.m.

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When I was about 5 my single parent mother dropped myself, and my brother and sisters, on my father's doorstep. I was raised by him and my abusive step-mother until I was 16 when I left home. Despite all the rough times in my childhood, I worked hard, depended not on government or others to get ahead. I am currently employed by the US Postal Service.

Using Senator Reid's analysis on Judge Sotomayor background, then I think I am highly qualified to be Post Master General. God knows I CAN do a better job than Mr Potter. (Postmaster General)
By boftx

6/8/09 at 12:41 p.m.

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Judge Sotomayor's track record is the *only* thing that should matter. And it is nothing outstanding. Even without the bias, there is little indication that she applies case law other than when it happens to match her views. Her rulings on gun cases, EEOP (JB Hunt) and the firefighters in Conn. are enough to make me question her ability and suitability to be a SCOTUS Justice.

When you add in her speeches then you must come to the conclusion that we might well see some very different views of the Constitution.

As an asided, the majority of her cases that have been reviewed by SCOTUS have been overturned. That should also give one pause for thought.
By KillerB

6/8/09 at 9:22 p.m.

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boftx -- what you said!

Then there's her ruling in the Didden case, totally disregarding the Takings Claus. Kelo all over again. If she makes the high bench we can all kiss what's left of private property rights goodbye.
By 54patsfan

6/14/09 at 12:28 p.m.

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Judge Sotomayer's credentials are not very impressive when we are starting to see the truth of her background slowly coming to light. It seems that the social Gov't that fast-tracked her into Princeton by way of Affirmative Action, over more academically qualified students, is going to be paid back in Spades when she is confirmed, and ALL THREE BRANCHES of our Gov't are controlled by Ultra-Liberal Socialists. We can say goodbye to the country we love as we now know it. Welcome to the Socialist Democratic States of the Americas, Europe, and Sharia Muslim Imams.,Republic of China.
By larry5

6/27/09 at 6:41 p.m.

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Now there's an opinion I can respect!
By jlb101

7/3/09 at 9:22 p.m.

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Her education was given to her to reach a quota. Her appointment to the Federal bench was done to reach a quota. Her nomination to the Supreme Court was done to reach a quota. Without quotas she would probably be cleaning rooms in a hotel somewhere.