Race, Sex, and Justice

Here is a quote from the Republican Supreme Court nominee, “I would hope that a wise white man, with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Hispanic female who hasn’t lived that life.”

Oh wait, that’s not what happened. But what if it had? Is that a racist statement? Is it a sexist statement? I would certainly say so.

Now here is the real quote from President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” — Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in her Judge Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law in 2001.

Any way you slice it, the statement is racist, sexist, and has NOTHING to do with the rule of law. In fact it is clear that not only does the Judge Sotomayor believe that the race and background of the two parties should be considered, but that justice itself may be different depending on the race, sex, and background of the judge trying the case.

Can we go ahead and redesign any statues of Lady Justice and have them strip off the blind fold and throw the lopsided weights of race and sex into the scales.

Unfortunately this isn’t just talk for Judge Sotomayor, she was actually admonished by a colleague (and President Clinton appointee) for her judgment (or lack there of) in a case where white, male firefighters were being passed over for promotions based on their race.

Justice?