“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

Much has been made by the President’s Supreme Court pick, Sonia Sotomayor. The biggest news seems to be her gender and ethnicity. Even the nominee herself has made a statement to put her identity on center stage because of her 2001 statement that being a Latina woman enables her to make better decisions than a white man could make. This highly controversial statement is drawing attacks from political opposition. Meanwhile, President Obama has defended Sotomayor’s statement as a poor choice of words. While some urge that the context of the statement keeps it from being “racist” or “bigoted,” others argue that the context actually makes the statement even more problematic.

The President says empathy is an important quality for a judge to have. So perhaps for those who agree, Sonia Sotomayor’s background, the difficult conditions in which she was raised, the tough circumstances she had to overcome to succeed — all these make her a more understanding person and a better judge. In that sense, her experience and identity may be an asset to Sotomayor. While that may be true, does it mean that a man, a white man even, would be an inferior judge?

On the other hand, if justices are making decisions based on the constitution, maybe identity and experience are irrelevant. If the focus of a judge, much less a Supreme Court Justice, is to apply the law to the case at hand, then how much does experience, gender, and ethnicity really affect the final decision? Honestly, how much would we want it to impact a decision if we were either plaintiffs or defense? How would it make you feel to know that a judge’s personal experience would be a factor in a decision about you or your circumstances? I would guess that if you thought that the judge had a similar experience, then it would work in your favor. But, if I am an American woman of Egyptian descent facing a white male judge, should I feel less secure about my case than if a female African American woman was deciding my case? Something seems a bit too biased for a job that is intended to be impartial. I’d rather let the law of the land be the judge. Let’s keep everyone’s personal experience opinions that way — personal.

Do you agree that it’s easier to trust the law than it is to trust any human who may rule according to something subjective, like experience? What do you think? Would you prefer facing a female judge? Or, should gender and ethnicity matter at all on the court?

I want empathy in my family; I’d like justice in the court.

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(Original photo by Jay Tomboli, used under Creative Commons license.)