Supreme Court nominee reflects the values of Maine people

Here is a “Maine Voices” piece written by Sarah Standiford, our Executive Director, about the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Earlier in the month, I posted it as part of another blog entry, but as we’ve all been watching, listening, and talking about this historic happening, I wanted to post it again.

Supreme Court nominee reflects the values of Maine people

Supreme Court nominee reflects the values of Maine people

Judge Sotomayor has the experience and empathy to do an excellent job on the high court.

SARAH STANDIFORD July 4, 2009

Maine’s interests would be well-served by confirming Judge Sonia Sotomayor to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, the head of the Maine Women’s Lobby says.

HALLOWELL — How fitting that the Senate will open hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor just days after our nation celebrates Independence Day.

What better way to honor the creation of our democracy than to confirm a nominee with a proven history of making decisions based on the Constitution and the rule of law?

The Senate should move swiftly to confirm Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, for there is much at stake for Maine people – and Maine women in particular.

Courts protect our air and water, hold corporations accountable, ensure equal opportunity and fair pay, and safeguard our personal freedoms. These are decisions that will affect our everyday lives for decades to come. For that reason, it is critical that Maine people weigh in to support this nomination.

Fortunately, in Judge Sotomayor, President Obama has nominated someone who will be a strong voice to uphold the Constitution and the law. These values provide guidance on how the law works to ensure equal opportunity and equal justice for all.

Moreover, Judge Sotomayor’s record suggests that she is committed to providing equal justice and protecting personal freedoms for everyone in America – not just the wealthy and powerful.

No doubt there will be those who continue to oppose the nomination, but they will have a tough time proving their case. As has been widely observed, Judge Sotomayor is superbly qualified.

She has outstanding legal credentials and understands that upholding the rule of law means going beyond legal theory to ensure consistent, fair, common-sense application of the law to real-world facts.

In other words, as Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice Leigh Saufley said recently in the Kennebec Journal, “Every judge has to have the capacity to understand how the laws affect real people. This is not an academic exercise.”

Maine people can be assured of Judge Sotomayor’s understanding of the impact of her decisions on everyday Americans.

Moreover, if confirmed, Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years. She has been a prosecutor and a corporate litigator, a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court, and an appellate judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

In fact, before she was promoted to the Second Circuit by President Clinton in 1998, Judge Sotomayor was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush – a show of bipartisan support that proves good judging transcends political party.

President Obama recently spoke out against Judge Sotomayor’s few (but extremely vocal) detractors, saying, “I think she’s had a distinguished record on the bench and she should be entitled to fair hearings.”

I couldn’t agree more. After all, fairness is what this is all about. The Supreme Court needs more fair-minded members such as Judge Sotomayor, who is in the mainstream of American viewpoints and is not pushing a political agenda.

Judge Sotomayor is a highly qualified nominee who will keep faith with our constitutional values.

In Maine, citizens prize the values of independence and hard work above all. Justice Sotomayor’s compelling life story and record of fair-mindedness demonstrates commitment to these values, and to the personal freedoms of Maine people.

We urge Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and their colleagues to support Judge Sotomayor and ensure a fair confirmation process.

We also ask them to ensure that our Judge Sotomayor is appointed without delay, so that a new Supreme Court justice will have time to prepare and participate when the court confers in September and selects cases to be heard this year.

If the Senate votes based on Judge Sotomayor’s stellar record, there is every reason to believe she will have a new job by the time Labor Day rolls around.

That will truly be something for Maine people to celebrate.

Copyright © 2009 MaineToday Media, Inc.

Here is the link to the article online.