Sonia Sotomayor: An Epic American Story

Sonia Sotomayor’s presence was always commanding, this was clear, but not many at that time fully understood the power behind the persona who would one day be Supreme Court Justice. She was an exceptional orator, even then. Sonia could justify that the sky was purple, if she wanted to, and somehow you believed her, her elocution so precise, her eloquence so profound. Yet she was just a high school student, and though clearly brilliant, no one could fully appreciate that her brilliance would shine a path that directed a journey that so few could ever traverse. An old soul in a youthful body, she was a walking contradiction. You thought, well she looks like me, but clearly her countenance was that of an adult, or an authority, who knew more than all of us students combined. She walked up to me, in what seemed to be a gesture of inclusion and asked if I wanted to join the Debate Club, although she actually referred to it as the extemporaneous team, extemp for short. Had I been wearing a blood pressure monitor, she would have been able to see that her question was the worst one she could have ever asked. I would never get up in front of a crowd and make an oral presentation – to me a fate worse than death. I politely and extemporaneously said no, and despite her genuine encouragement and the impression she gave that made me feel that I would be the perfect candidate, I walked away from her that day – a metaphor for the divergent trajectories of both our lives. 

Sonia attended Princeton University in New Jersey, and graduated summa cum laude in 1976 ("Sonia Sotomayor"). She was a recipient of the Pyne Honor, which is awarded to the graduating student who demonstrates superb scholarship, outstanding leadership capabilities and a combination of dignity, discretion and self-discipline. While at Princeton she became a member of Accion Puertorriqueña, a group which spearheaded getting more Latino students admitted and faculty hired by the university (Liemer), and was invited to become a Phi Beta Kappa member. Not too long after graduation, Sonia married her long time boyfriend, Kevin Edward Noonan, who she had dated since high school, the pair divorced in 1983 ("Judge Sonia Sotomayor Bio”). 

Sonia then pursued her law degree at Yale Law School, in Connecticut. Sotomayor soon became the editor of The Yale Law Journal, and as an adventurous mind would do, also became managing editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order ("Historic Supreme Court Appointment”). In addition, she joined the Latin American and Native American Students Association, where she was a co-chair (“Sonia Sotomayor 2). After her second year at the law school, Sonia worked as a summer associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, an exceptional firm, but said that her performance while there had been lackluster ("You Can Have a Brilliant”). She did not receive an offer from them, something that troubled her for quite some time thereafter. In her junior year, Sotomayor refused to interview with presitigous Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge, a Washington, D.C. firm, after filing a complaint with the law school that a partner at the firm had indicated, during a recruitment dinner, that she was only there as a result of affirmative action (Weiss). The tribunal, composed of faculty and students, reviewed her complaint and ruled in her favor, determining that the questions were in fact discriminatory, in violation of Yale’s policies (Auerbach). The law school tribunal rebuffed the first letter of apology offered by the law firm because it was apparent that they did not fully appreciate the depth of firm partner, Martin Krall’s actions. In fact, the firm issued a second revised apology, the subject of which appeared in the Washington Post, not too long afterward. The questions posed by Krall, quite surprisingly, said:

Do law firms do a disservice by hiring minority students who the firms know do not have the necessary credentials and will then fire in three to four years? Would I have been admitted to the law school if I were not a Puerto Rican? Was I culturally deprived? (Weiss)

Had the firm not provided an adequate apology, they would have been prohibited from recruiting students from Yale Law School (Auerbach). Ultimately, the law firm began to fully appreciate the true extent of the dilemma they were in. They could not afford to develop a bad reputation with Yale, or amongst the top echelon of law school students at other schools. The issue became a critical debate on the Yale campus, and the likely subject of word-of-mouth discussions at other acclaimed law schools. Interestingly enough, the law firm’s name has changed since then, it is now known as Pillsbury, Winthrop. Apparently, it is not a good idea to engage in racist banter when addressing a future Supreme Court Justice. Sotomayor obtained her Juris Doctor in 1979 and passed the New York Bar the next year (“Sonia Sotomayor”). 

Sonia was a no-nonsense prosecutor in Robert Morgenthau’s Manhattan District Attorney's Office where she got a look at the grainy side of criminal law in a tough town (Stephens and Wilber). The Manhattan office was faced with lots of cases, financial difficulties, high crime rates, and offered the new attorney lots of chances to prosecute cases immediately. She quickly made her way up the crime ladder, moving from disorderly conduct and similar basic cases to major felonies, consisting of murders, armed robberies and rogue cop cases. Sonia was an organized perfectionist and spent whatever time was needed to dig into the minutia of her cases. She was given a substantial caseload and had to maneuver through hundreds of cases at a time. Sotomayor grew up in the projects and prosecuted cases from those areas. She understood the environment the cases came from and understood the victims’ suffering. Sotomayor was competitive and hard driving, and drank her share of Tab diet sodas to stay awake, smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes per day. By the time she left the district attorney’s office to enter private practice in 1984, she had an extensive array of experiences under her belt (Stephens and Wilber).

Sonia started her career in private practice at Pavia & Harcourt, a business law firm, and focused on intellectual property litigation (“Sonia Sotomayor”). She quickly advanced up the ladder to partner in 1988. Simultaneously, she performed pro bono work at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund board, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board. Fortuitously, Sonia’s extensive contributions made headway and caught the eyes of Ted Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Senator from New York. The two senators were in part, responsible for Sotomayor’s appointment as U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York City. George H. W. Bush nominated Sonia in 1992, and she was unanimously confirmed that August. She was later nominated for the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1997, by then President Bill Clinton, and was confirmed in October (“Sonia Sotomayor”). During her tenure, Sotomayor was a participant in more than 3000 three judge panel decisions, and she wrote more than 400 opinions ("Background on Judge Sonia Sotomayor"). In 1998, while still serving on the court, she taught law school at New York University and in 1999, at Columbia Law School.

Sonia was nominated to the U. S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama, on May 26, 2009 ("Background on Judge Sonia Sotomayor"). The White House Office of the Press Secretary said the following about Judge Sotomayor: 

She has been hailed as "one of the ablest federal judges currently sitting" for her thoughtful opinions, i. and as "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity" ii. for her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project . . . Judge Sotomayor served 11 years on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the most demanding circuits in the country, and has handed down decisions on a range of complex legal and constitutional issues. If confirmed, Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed for the Court in the past 70 years ("Background on Judge Sonia Sotomayor").

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on the Court, and one of only four women to ever preside, replaced Justice David Souter, who retired in June of that year (“Sonia Sotomayor"). 

Sotomayor’s philosophical perspective on cases is liberal, and she tends to vote in alignment with Justices Ginsburg, Kagan and Breyer (Coyle). In contrast, Justices Thomas, Roberts, Alito and Kennedy represent the conservative perspective of the Supreme Court, along with former Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Sotomayor is viewed as a spirited and vocal component of the Court, and she does not hesitate to write a dissenting opinion when necessary. In her book, The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution, Marcia Coyle describes Sotomayor as having a more formal relationship with her law clerks than other Justices, requiring rigorously detailed analysis in their review of the law for cases she is contemplating, requiring that a table of contents be attached to their submissions. Sotomayor is known for being a champion for the rights of the accused, and in full support of criminal law reform (Tribe). In fact, she is described by Tribe, one of the most prolific and philosophical minds on Constitutional law, as being in direct accord with Chief Justice Earl Warren’s desire to see changes in the criminal justice system, particularly as it relates to wayward cops and prosecutors, the death penalty, inmate abuses and loss of privacy issues. In 2014, Sotomayor received the Yale Law Women Alumnae Achievement Award, following other notable recipients such as Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and Hillary Clinton ("Sonia Sotomayor Receives Yale Law”).

Beyond her illustrious past and prolific achievements, I will always remember Sonia Sotomayor as a brilliant and compassionate woman whose excellence and accessibility had matured far beyond her years. When she spoke with you, you felt you were the only person who was important at that moment, but you also knew that you were in the presence of greatness. Though, my favorite Sonia anecdote, is of the two appearances she made on Sesame Street, in her attempt, I am certain, to give children a real sense of what could be and what a judge does. In a clear demonstration of her accessibility, she solved a major, complex case between Baby Bear and Goldilocks, which can be seen by Googling the following YouTube video: Sesame Street: Sonia Sotomayor: "The Justice Hears a Case."

Works Cited

Auerbach. Stuart.  "Law Firm Apologizes to Yale Law Student." The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 16 December 1978. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/package/supremecourt/graphics/sototimeline/WashPostarticle.pdf>.  and  <https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1978/12/16/law-firm-apologizes-to-yale-student/476c0d94-63b8-44d5-a990-a4dfc446abc7/>.

"Background on Judge Sonia Sotomayor." White House. 26 May 2009. Web. 11 July 2016. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/background-judge-sonia-sotomayor>.

Coyle, Marcia. The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013, Print.

"Historic Supreme Court Appointment—Sonia Sotomayor ’79." Yale Law School. 6 August 2009. Web. 11 July 2016. <https://www.law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/historic-supreme-court-appointment-sonia-sotomayor-79>.

Hotchkiss, Michael. "News at Princeton." Princeton University. The Trustees of Princeton University. 10 February 2016. Web. 11 July 2016. <https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S45/51/15M93/index.xml?section=topstories>.

"Judge Sonia Sotomayor Bio." Eyewitness News ABC 7. ABC, Inc. 26 May 2009. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://abc7ny.com/archive/6831739/>.

Liemer, David. "Latin Student Groups Assail University Hiring Performance." The Daily Princetonian. Princeton University. 22 April 1974. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://images.politico.com/global/news/090528_sotomayorarticle.jpg>.

"Sonia Sotomayor." Biography. A&E Television Networks, LLC. n. d. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/sonia-sotomayor-453906#higher-education>.

"Sonia Sotomayor 2." Oyez. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. n. d. Web. 11 July 2016. <https://www.oyez.org/justices/sonia_sotomayor>.

"Sonia Sotomayor Receives Yale Law Women Alumnae Achievement Award." Yale Law School. 6 August 2009. Web. 11 July 2016. 

<https://www.law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/sonia-sotomayor-receives-yale-law-women-alumnae-achievement-award>.

Stephens, Joe and Wilber, Del Quentin. "Gritty First Job as Manhattan Prosecutor Helped Forge Sotomayor." The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 4 June 2009. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/03/AR2009060304054.html>.

Weiss, Debra Cassens. "Sotomayor Made Shaw Pittman Apologize for Partner’s Questions." ABA Journal. American Bar Association. 27 May 2009. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sotomayor_made_shaw_pittman_apologize_for_partners_questions/>.

"You Can Have a Brilliant Career (Even if Paul Weiss Disses You)." The Careerist. ALM an Intergrated Media Company. 14 January 2014. Web. 11 July 2016. <http://thecareerist.typepad.com/thecareerist/2013/01/newsjan152012.html>.