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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Opinion: The problem with calling on Justice Sonia Sotomayor to resign
Opinion by Raul A. Reyes
Updated:
12:00 PM EDT, Tue April 16, 2024
Source: CNN
As Justice Sonia Sotomayor approaches the 15th anniversary of her
historic appointment to the Supreme Court, some liberal want her to
consider stepping down. They think that Sotomayor’s health, and the
possibility that Democrats might lose the presidency and the Senate in
November, put the future of the court’s liberal wing at risk.
The worry is that the high court’s 6-3 conservative majority could
potentially become an emboldened 7-2 majority if former President
Donald Trump were elected and filled a vacancy. These critics fear
the scenario that played out with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. After
resisting calls to retire, Ginsburg in 2020, which allowed
then-President Trump to appoint Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
The push for Sotomayor to retire is misguided and deeply flawed. It
ignores political reality and reflects ignorance of the lives of people
with disabilities. The arrogance of those who want the country’s
to abdicate her position is exceeded only by their wishful thinking
that she will listen to them.
While praising Sotomayor as “the greatest liberal to sit on the
Supreme Court in my adult lifetime,” The Guardian’s , “Why not
retire now?” The answer is because , which Sotomayor took an oath to
uphold, says that justices “shall hold their offices during good
behavior.” Sotomayor’s position is a lifetime appointment, not one
to be cut short due to political vagaries.
Columnist Josh Barro that Sotomayor’s “age problem can be dealt
with very simply by her retiring.” But by modern Supreme Court
standards, Sotomayor is relatively young. Consider that Ginsburg served
on the court for and was a before she passed away at 87. Justice
John Paul Stevens was 90 when he . Justice stepped down in 2022,
paving the way for the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson, but he was
83 when he did so.
In contrast, Sotomayor is only 69. She has yet to reach the for an
American (76), for (79), or for a Hispanic woman (81). Sotomayor’s
mother lived to be 94.
Even if Sotomayor stepped down tomorrow, there is no guarantee that
President Joe Biden could successfully name her replacement. With Joe
Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in the Senate, it’s an
open question as to whether Democrats have the votes to confirm a new
justice, given that both are centrists with a history of bedeviling
establishment leaders with their own agendas. Plus, it’s doubtful
that Biden would name a successor to Sotomayor who would be as of
marginalized people.
Besides, people with type 1 diabetes can live , so long as they have
reliable access to health care and medication. Sotomayor’s condition,
shared by singer , and is no reason for her to give up one of
the influential posts in the nation.
The fact that a few liberal pundits are so comfortable speculating
about Sotomayor’s medical issues is an insult to the 42 million
Americans . Her health is her own business. And aren’t progressives
usually the ones criticizing conservatives for making decisions about
women’s bodies?
Urging Sotomayor’s retirement, Hasan and Barro mention her type 1
diabetes, pointing to a report that she travels with a medic. Yet it
has not been established that Sotomayor travels with a medic. The
cited as a source for this claim states that the Marshals Service
incurred costs for traveling with “baggage (medic),” while noting
that this “could refer to medical personnel or be a more benign
reference to medical equipment in the justice’s luggage.”
Some of these same liberal writers declare that it will be better for
if Sotomayor retires, and that “ especially, will suffer most”
with a more conservative court. No evidence is offered for these
sweeping statements. In fact, the Latino community is home to both
and liberals, and Latinas can make up their own minds about what is
good for them.
True, in 2018 paramedics were when she had a low blood sugar
episode. She was treated and then returned to work. But Chief Justice
John Roberts was for a fall and suffered seizures in 1993 and 2007.
Justice Clarence Thomas in the hospital in 2022 for flu-like
symptoms. They’re still doing their jobs, and so can Sotomayor. In a
, she described how the impact of the court keeps her going. “I live
in frustration. Every loss truly traumatizes me in my stomach and in my
heart,” she said. “But I have to get up the next morning and keep
on fighting.”
Justice Sotomayor does not serve in fealty to the interests of the
Democratic Party. Her responsibility is to the law — and calls for
her retirement are disrespectful and unwarranted.
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