Just to follow up on Jim's post,
I think the problem with the benign interprtation of Sonia
Sotomayor's controversial Berkeley speech is that she wasn't just
candidly acknowledging that Latina roots would lead a judge to
reach different conclusions than a while male
counterpart, but "more often than not reach a better
conclusion" (emphasis mine). That's a very important
distinction.
It's true that Sotomayor's position becomes a bit more nuanced if
you read on to the point where she says, "I am reminded each day
that I render decisions that affect people concretely and that I
owe them constant and complete vigilance in checking my
assumptions, presumptions and perspectives and ensuring that to
the extent that my limited abilities and capabilities permit me,
that I reevaluate them and change as circumstances and cases
before me requires." But that still doesn't explain away the
earlier comment.
Text of the full speech is
here.
