Sotomayor Brings Celebrity Justice to the Supreme Court
By Claudette Rhone
Published: November 17, 2009
Justice Sonia Sotomayor has achieved celebrity status without making even one major decision in the Supreme Court. After becoming the first Hispanic United States Supreme Court justice, she has been on the scene in full force.
Jusice Sotomayor has danced with the stars, enjoyed kisses from the musical elite and thrown the first pitch for her prized New York Yankee team. She must have magical kisses or a sparkle in her eyes that has bewitched her fans across the nation. One admirer, who just happens to be a famous jazz composer, penned a song in her honor called “Wise Latina Women.” Sotomayor has been glistening in the spotlight since her induction for her history making buzz reports the Associated Press:
“She is the first Latino, Latina to sit on the Supreme Court and that’s powerful. She’s a powerful role model,” said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “She will have an effect on Latino children akin to the effect that the election of the first African-American president has had and will have on African American children and that’s encouraging. And for all of that she deservedly gets treated like a rock star.”
Not all justices have enjoyed the same attention that Justice Sotomayor has received. “I’m almost never recognized, which is nice. I just do the shopping and so forth and nobody knows who it is,” Justice John Paul Stevens, the court’s senior justice who has been on the court since 1975, said in an interview with C-SPAN.
Sotomayor’s celebrity is being embraced by some of her fellow justices. Supreme Court justices “should be the celebrities,” Justice Clarence Thomas said. “Given the nature of our governmental system, these are the people that every citizen should know. These are important people.”
Photo Via Minnpost
Tagged with: Justice Sotomayor, Supreme Court
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