What we know about the Supreme Court’s new term and Trump’s power
The Supreme Court’s new term will define the scope of President Donald Trump’s power. Here’s what we know:
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in public on April 9 that she has civil relationships with “virtually all” of her fellow judges and considers many of them friends.
Mr. Sotomayor did not name any specific judges with no civil ties. She made the remark while speaking at an event hosted by the University of Alabama School of Law in response to a law student’s question about building bridges with colleagues.
“I certainly have civil relations with, I would venture to say, virtually all of them, and I think I have friendships with many of them,” Sotomayor said.
An appointee of former President Barack Obama, Sotomayor is one of three Supreme Court justices appointed by Democratic presidents. The remaining six justices were appointed by Republican presidents. As a member of the court’s liberal minority, Sotomayor often writes or joins dissenting opinions in cases involving hot-button political issues.
Two days earlier, on April 7, Mayor Soto anonymously criticized Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, according to Bloomberg Law.
Sotomayor reportedly described a concurring opinion Kavanaugh wrote while the Supreme Court ruled that federal immigration officials can continue to suspend people based on a combination of factors, including race, the language they speak and the type of work they do, while a lawsuit challenging those practices continues.
“In that case, my colleague wrote, ‘I wrote that this is only a temporary suspension,'” Sotomayor said, according to Bloomberg Law. “This is coming from a guy whose parents were professionals. You probably don’t really know anyone who works hourly.”
Sotomayor said in remarks on April 9 that his experience as a trial court judge has helped him see the real people behind the cases he is deciding, but he is not sure all of his colleagues see them the same way.
“When you read the transcript, you still see people,” Sotomayor said, referring to the transcript of proceedings held in trial court, where individuals involved in the underlying events of the case can testify. “I don’t know how many of my colleagues do that.”
“If I had my mentor, I would make sure that every appellate judge had trial experience,” Sotomayor added.
Of the nine current Supreme Court justices, only Sotomayor and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by President Joe Biden, have previously served as trial court judges.
