Lambda Legal Statement on the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court

(New York, May 26, 2009) — In response to the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to the U.S. Supreme Court, Lambda Legal's Executive Director, Kevin Cathcart, made the following statement:

"All Americans need justices who will uphold the Constitution, apply its principles carefully to the questions before them each day and protect personal freedoms for everyone in America, not just a select few.

I, along with many other leaders of gay organizations from across the country, met with Administration staff to discuss the concerns of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people living with HIV as we move into a new era.  Among the concerns that we discussed was the need to balance the judiciary after eight long years of the Bush Administration packing the courts with judges who were not committed to equality for all.

After that meeting, Lambda Legal sent the Obama transition team our federal court nomination principles memo which outlines the types of qualities necessary for a fair and impartial federal judge, including adherence to precedents established in cases of importance to the gay community.  Among those vital precedents are the right to privacy, protection against laws based on anti-gay or anti-transgender bias, the right to sue in state courts under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and protections against HIV discrimination. 

"Today, I repeat those same principles and ask the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to carefully analyze Judge Sotomayor's record as they move forward in the confirmation process. I urge them to ask pertinent and comprehensive questions to best assess Judge Sotomayor's ability to be a fair and impartial justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Finally, we are pleased that President Obama has named a woman of color — the first Latina, and the third woman, who would serve on the high court—as his first U.S. Supreme Court nomination.  While women, people of color, and self-identified gay people continue to be woefully underrepresented in the federal judiciary, Judge Sotomayor's nomination represents a step in the right direction.

Read the full text of Lambda Legal's federal court nomination principles.

Read Lambda Legal's January 2009 letter to President–Elect Obama.

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Erin Baer, 212-809-8585; Email: ebaer@lambdalegal.org