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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Sotomayor gets Obama court nod
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
UNITED States President Barack Obama yesterday nominated judge Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court - a choice unlikely to shift the ideological balance on the country's highest judicial panel.
Obama's selection of the 54-year-old Sotomayor, whose parents moved to New York City from Puerto Rico before her birth, is an exercise of one of the most significant powers the US Constitution grants the American chief executive.
The president said he selected Sotomayor based on his search for a candidate with a "rigorous intellect" and "a mastery of the law" and one who recognized "the limits of the judicial role."
Sotomayor said "my heart today is bursting with gratitude" and called the nomination the "most humbling honor of my life."
Before selecting the nominee, Obama had said he was looking for a prospective high court justice who would bring "empathy" to the bench, a judge capable of understanding the effects of high court rulings on the lives of Americans.
Standing next to Obama in the White House East Room, Sotomayor echoed that point: "I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions."
If confirmed by the Senate, she would succeed retiring Justice David Souter, one of four reliably liberal votes on the nine-member court, and would be expected to vote with the bloc.
Justices serve until they retire or die, giving presidents an opportunity to influence policy long after they leave office.
She would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court, the third in history. Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman on the Supreme Court.
Obama's selection of the 54-year-old Sotomayor, whose parents moved to New York City from Puerto Rico before her birth, is an exercise of one of the most significant powers the US Constitution grants the American chief executive.
The president said he selected Sotomayor based on his search for a candidate with a "rigorous intellect" and "a mastery of the law" and one who recognized "the limits of the judicial role."
Sotomayor said "my heart today is bursting with gratitude" and called the nomination the "most humbling honor of my life."
Before selecting the nominee, Obama had said he was looking for a prospective high court justice who would bring "empathy" to the bench, a judge capable of understanding the effects of high court rulings on the lives of Americans.
Standing next to Obama in the White House East Room, Sotomayor echoed that point: "I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions."
If confirmed by the Senate, she would succeed retiring Justice David Souter, one of four reliably liberal votes on the nine-member court, and would be expected to vote with the bloc.
Justices serve until they retire or die, giving presidents an opportunity to influence policy long after they leave office.
She would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court, the third in history. Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman on the Supreme Court.
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