The pick is in.

So after months of conjecture, analysis, debate and speculation, our new Justice of the Supreme Court will be, drum roll please…

Judge Sonia Sotomayor?

Really? Her?

I know that some people on both sides of the political aisle are outraged over this nomination, while many are extremely happy and even “inspired”.

Me? Well, I’m just confused. Forgive me for sounding perhaps a bit harsh here, but I just do not see the appeal to this woman.

The thing that strikes me most about Sotomayor is her utter lack of any meaningful decisions. I keep hearing that she brings more experience to the bench than any other justice in the past 100 years, but when have we ever valued quantity over quality when picking a Supreme Court Justice? Personally, I would rather have a judge that has a somewhat limited judicial experience, but has made multiple, key decisions. Additionally, 60% of her rulings have been overturned by the Supreme Court, not a good sign.

I mean, she just does not appear to be that impressive to me. All of her supporters gush about her Latina heritage, her life experiences, her overcoming poverty, her gender and her tough personality on the bench, yet they offer the quality of her decisions as mere footnotes to her overall qualifications. This fact only solidifies the fact that President Obama wanted a nominee that values empathy over the law and, unfortunately for us, that is what he got.

This entire empathy debate is a critical one as it could potentially mean that the letter of the law will not be followed.

There is a famous story about Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that illustrates this point. According to the story, a woman was passing Justice Holmes on the street and she said, “Do justice, Mr. Holmes”, whereby Holmes is said to have replied, “I don’t do justice, I apply the law”.

Why would he say something like that? Well, “justice” is abstract. It is difficult to define, as its meaning varies from person to person and from situation to situation. That is precisely why it should not be brought into the legal equation as seeking to achieve “justice”, rather than following the law, guarantees that certain groups will be viewed and ruled upon differently than everyone else. If a law applies one way to one group of people and another way to a different group, what is the point of having the law anyway? After all, Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason.

Look, I think it is great that a person like Sotomayor can overcome so much in life and she is a worthy example to not just young Latinos, but to all Americans of hard work and determination. However, that does not make her a suitable choice to become a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.

I do suspect that she will face very little opposition to her confirmation, as she is not liberal enough to be considered a judicial activist, in my opinion. The only things that could possibly stand in her way are any tax skeletons in her closet, not that that has stopped certain Obama appointees, just ask Treasury Secretary Geithner.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John