Next Gen Journal

Justice Sotomayor with President Obama (Public Domain- Official White House Photographer)

by Connor Toohill

On Thursday, Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court by the Senate in a 68-31 vote. Justice Sotomayor, who becomes the Court’s first Latina Justice, was unanimously supported by Democrats and as well as nine Republicans: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, George Voinovich of Ohio, Dick Lugar of Indiana, Christopher Bond of Missouri, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Mel Martinez of Florida.  Many have speculated that the G.O.P. will suffer because of its widespread opposition to Justice Sotomayor; after all, Hispanics are among the country’s most influential voting blocks.

At the same time, many questions persist about exactly what kind of justice Sonia Sotomayor will be. Some Republicans insist that she will be a very liberal judicial activist, an accusation driven in part by her statement in a 2001 speech that she hoped a wise Latina judge would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male. On the other hand, her stance on many divisive issues, including the Second Amendment and Roe v. Wade, are not entirely known. There are multiple important issues related to her confirmation; let’s break it down into two questions:

How much will the Republican Party suffer with Hispanic voters as a result of its widespread opposition to Justice Sotomayor? Also, what do you expect to see from her on the bench?