Supreme Court nominee

Sotomayor to be Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee

Kate Fort1 Comment

As reported on NPR, the Washington Post, and the NY Times.  TurtleTalk’s coverage of her federal Indian Law cases is here:

1. CA2 Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Judge Sotomayor has written the majority opinions in two unexceptional Indian law cases, Catskill Development v. Park Place Entertainment (2008 ) and United States v. White (2001). Catskill Development involved the authority of the National Indian Gaming Commission to review and opine on gaming management contracts, and White involved the federal prosecution of Mohawk Indians for failure to report income to the IRS. Judge Sotomayor has some Indian law exposure, but not on anything controversial.

Judge Sotomayor also voted with the majority in Bassett v. Mashantucket Pequot (2000), a case affirming the sovereign immunity of the tribe.

From the NPR story:

NPR.org, May 26, 2009 · President Obama will nominate federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court, NPR has learned. If confirmed, Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic to serve on the high court.

A graduate of Yale Law School, Sotomayor was nominated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals by President Clinton. She previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and in private practice in New York, specializing in intellectual property law, international litigation and commodities export trading.

Obama is expected to announce the nomination Tuesday morning. The president had said publicly he wanted a justice who combined intellect and empathy – the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans.

Sotomayor is a Puerto Rican. Her father, a tool-and-die worker, died when she was 9. Raised by her mother, a nurse, Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton, then went to Yale Law School, where she served on the law journal.

SCOTUSBlog Predictions on a Possible SCT Nominee in Summer 2009

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Jennifer Granholm, our governor, is listed as a dark horse candidate. Our commentary on the other candidates (Kagan, Wood, and Sotomayor) is here. We haven’t yet discussed Jennifer Granholm as a possible Justice.

From SCOTUSBlog:

Before the election, I wrote two posts (here and here) on likely Democratic nominees to the Supreme Court.  It seems an appropriate time for an update.  For example, despite my earlier predictions, Elliot Spitzer’s odds now seem lower, and President Obama is unlikely to appoint himself.

Equally important, we can learn something from the President’s initial appointments to other jobs in the government.  In my opinion, they seem pragmatic and focused on objective qualifications (including academic appointments) and tend less than did those of Clinton and Bush 43 towards friends of the President.  The appointments to date have also involved few totally out of the box and unexpected choices.  The appointments have been diverse, but the choices don’t seem race and gender driven.

We also have the benefit of the President’s specific appointment of Elena Kagan to be SG, which elevates her prospects considerably.

In my opinion, if there is an appointment this summer — which principally means that some otherwise serious candidates will not yet have had the time to be appointed to a court of appeals and develop experience there — there are three reasonably clear front runners, and one dark horse candidate.  All are women, for the simple reason that there is only one woman on the Court now and I cannot imagine that the President will conclude that he cannot find a highly qualified female nominee.

The three obvious candidates are Elena Kagan (SG), Sonia Sotomajor (CA2), and Diane Wood (CA7).  The sleeper candidate is Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.