Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is accustomed to relentless personal attacks from the left, which began with his appointment to the nation’s highest court. This week, however, the ad hominem insults came not from cable news pundits or Democrats, but from his own colleague on the bench. Judge Sonia Sotomayor used an appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law to level a personal dig at Kavanaugh as an out-of-touch elitist.
I have long criticized the growing number of public statements by judges on controversial topics and cases, including Sotomayor. However, this appearance marked a new low in lashing out at a colleague who was effectively blinded by his own privilege.
In her remarks, Sotomayor brought up Kavanaugh’s consent in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, a pending case involving ICE’s ability to briefly detain people during immigration raids.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor is received by King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain on March 4, 2024. (Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images)
“I had a colleague in that business who wrote, these are just temporary stops. This is from a guy whose parents were professional parents. And he probably doesn’t really know anyone who works by the hour. Those hours they took you, no one pays that person. And that makes a difference between a meal for him and his kids that night and maybe just a cold supper.”
DEM SENATE CANDIDATE FACES GAME AFTER GREAT FANTASY AGAINST CONSERVATIVE SCOTUS RIGHTS GOES VIRAL
She then referred to her own background, which gave her experience and knowledge apparently lacking in colleagues like Kavanaugh:
“Life experiences teach you to think more broadly and see things that others may not see. And when I have a moment where I can express that on behalf of people who have no other voice, it gives me a very rare privilege.”
It was reminiscent of Sotomayor’s reference to a ‘wise LatinaWhile on the Second Circuit, then-Judge Sotomayor explained that her life experiences offered a “difference” not shared by other colleagues. In a 2001 lecture at Berkeley Law School entitled “A Latina Judge’s Voice,” she heralded the difference that “our gender and national origin can and do make… in our judgment.”
In her latest comments, she suggests that her interactions with hourly wage earners allow her to see things that Kavanaugh doesn’t see in these cases. The claim that she “sees things that others may not see” suggests that Kavanaugh’s privileged, isolated existence blinds him to the true merits of the cases before him.
Notably, Sotomayor also told the students and faculty that she has a friendship with most, but apparently not all, of her colleagues:
“I dare say I certainly have a civil relationship with almost all of them. And with many of them I think I dare say I have a friendship.”
KAVANAUGH WARNS TRUMP CASE MAY SUBJECT FEDERAL RESERVE INDEPENDENCE IN SUPREME COURT HEARING
After this speech, I wouldn’t expect an invitation from Kavanaugh to a friend on social media.
It’s true that Kavanaugh went to elite schools. But so did Sotomayor, who graduated from Princeton and Yale Law.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented in a pivotal Supreme Court decision cutting Trump’s emergency tariffs. (Susan Walsh/AP)
Both of Kavanaugh’s parents were indeed lawyers, but it’s strange that Sotomayor would miss the compelling story of his mother, Martha. She was a history professor who went to law school while raising a family and eventually became one of a minority of women on the state bench. That also seems to be the “gender origin” that Sotomayor previously cited as key in her view of impactful judgments.
JUSTICE BARRETT URGES STUDENTS TO ‘TAKE THE HIGH ROAD LIKE ERIKA KIRK’ AGAINST CAMPUS HOSTISM
Most striking, however, was Sotomayor’s backhanded suggestion that Kavanaugh “doesn’t really know anyone who works by the hour.” The suggestion is that he has avoided – and continues to avoid – interactions with people who are paid on an hourly basis, while she is more inclusive in her circle of friends. It is patently untrue, but more importantly, petty and dishonest.
The attack suggests that even though Kavanaugh is a “wise Latina,” she is a privileged dick on the court. The fact is that many workers (if not most) identify more with aspects of Kavanaugh’s jurisprudence. At the very least, more than half the country is more likely to embrace his approach than that of Sotomayor, who has been criticized for her comments in oral arguments on issues ranging from abortion Unpleasant puberty blockings to COVID restrictions.
Kavanaugh has distinguished himself in the public sector, including in his work with the homeless.
FORMER SUPREME COURT WARNS PARTYSHIP PLAYS ‘TOO MUCH ROLE’ IN JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
Sotomayor has repeatedly raised eyebrows with her comments off the bench, also apparently calling on lawyers and students to take part in a political campaign change abortion laws.
To her advantage, Sotomayor has done just that defended colleagues such as Judge Clarence Thomasexplained reasonable disagreements among the judges and opposing reasoning on the left for wrapping the track. She’s not someone I find unnecessarily rude or cruel. I believe she values collegiality and the court as an institution. However, this was another injudicious moment during public events.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS ADVICE
There is a large gap between the jurisprudence of these two judges. However, that difference is due to fundamental and principled differences in the way courts should approach constitutional and statutory interpretations.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Yet these comments represented a troubling departure from the court’s tradition of collegiality and civility. It was unfair and baseless. Hopefully, Judge Sotomayor will take an opportunity during her speaking tour to retract the comment.
That would be the ‘sensible’ thing to do.
CLICK HERE TO JONATHAN TURLEY
