ACLJ: Supreme Court Decision Rejecting Judge Sotomayor's Legal Position in Discrimination Case Raises Questions About Nominee's Judicial Philosophy

(Washington, DC) The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, said todays decision by the Supreme Court of the United States repudiating a legal position held by Judge Sonia Sotomayor in a discrimination case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit raises important questions about the judicial philosophy of the Supreme Court nominee.  The 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court today in the case of Ricci v. DeStefano rejects a decision by Judge Sotomayor that dismissed a reverse discrimination lawsuit filed by a group of Connecticut firefighters and comes just two weeks before confirmation hearings begin for Judge Sotomayor before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  

The Supreme Court decision repudiating Judge Sotomayors legal position in this discrimination case raises important questions about Judge Sotomayors judicial philosophy, said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, who argues regularly before the Supreme Court. 

This Supreme Court decision which overturns Judge Sotomayors legal position puts the nominees views on judicial activism front and center at the upcoming confirmation hearings.  How does Judge Sotomayor view the Constitution, the rule of law?  Whats the proper role of the judiciary when it comes to issues like race is it to set public policy, or uphold the rule of law that is gender and racially neutral?  These are important questions that now become even more significant in light of todays decision by the Supreme Court.  We look forward to hearing from Judge Sotomayor on this issue and others in the days ahead.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.