As described here, each day during the confirmation hearing I will feature an activist case and a troubling quote from Judge Sotomayor. Today’s quote comes from her 2001 speech at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where Judge Sotomayor made the following troubling statement regarding judicial impartiality: Judge Cedarbaum nevertheless believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and aspire to achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law. Although I agree with and attempt to work toward Judge Cedarbaum’s …
To correspond with Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings next week, I am launching a new daily feature: highlighting a key activist case and, separately, a notable quote for each day. In light of the renewed interest in Sotomayor’s Second Amendment jurisprudence, it is appropriate to begin with Maloney v. Cuomo. James Maloney was arrested at his New York home and charged with possession of a weapon—in this case, a chuka stick—in violation of New York law. He challenged the weapons prohibition as violating his rights under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. …
