Judge Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court Nominee

So this morning while making breakfast I had the TV on and watching Meet the Press (NBC). The subject today was Judge Sonia Sotomayor and some of the comments she has made and some of the rulings she has made.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a Latino woman. She has a impressive resume but its some of her rulings and some of the remarks that have been made that have some wondering if she is not using reverse discrimination.

She wrote the 2008 opinion supporting the City of New Haven's decision to throw out the results of a firefighter promotion exam because almost no minorities qualified for promotions. The Supreme Court heard the case in April 2009 and a final opinion is pending.

However what has caught more attention is a speach she made in 2001 (as printed here):

• At a 2001 U.C. Berkeley symposium marking the 40th anniversary of the first Latino named to the federal district court, Sotomayor said that the gender and ethnicity of judges does and should affect their judicial decision-making. From her speech:

"I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society....

"I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions. The aspiration to impartiality is just that - it's an aspiration because it denies the fact that we are by our experiences making different choices than others....

"Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor [Martha] Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." [U.C. Berkeley School of Law, 10/26/2001]

OK...
Sotomayor said that the gender and ethnicity of judges does and should affect their judicial decision-making.
Woah really - I personally strongly disagree with this. I mean what happened to judging according to the case? I would think that race, sex and religion should be left out. Cases should be judged on their merit and not on your life experiences after all its not "your" life that is on trial. Judges need to be a neutral umpire in a trial.

Here is what was on "Meet the Press" this morning about the subject (its a little over 5 mn but worth the time to watch)

Sessions: Stop calling Sotomayor a 'racist'

So what are your thoughts on this? This is the same judge we had a thread on called: Cyberlaw Judge

Note: remember this is a family friendly site and everyone is entitled to their opinions so lets not get heated towards each others views. Discussions are good but lets not turn this subject into a racial fight against each other.