Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who spoke with hundreds of lawyers on Thursday evening at an American Bar Association event, urged the legal profession to encourage itself.
“If you are not used to fighting and losing fights, don’t become a lawyer,” she said. “It is our job to stand up for people who can’t do it themselves.”
“At the moment,” she added, “we can’t lose the fighting we are confronted with.”
Justice Sotomayor spoke in general terms, but her comments came across the background of immense stress on lawyers and the legal system of the Trump government. That tension included a series of Executive orders of President Trump Wravel at prominent law firmsThe rid of their lawyers of security authorizations, who break them to enter federal buildings and to discourage federal officials from communicating with the companies.
She was once a summer employee at one of those companies, Paul Weisswhat led the lead when closing a deal With the administration, which asked criticism that it had sacrificed his principles to protect its bottom line. Many other leading companies followed.
Justice Sotomayor indicated that she had a different view of what lawyers should do.
“We needed trained and passionate and dedicated lawyers to fight this fight,” she said. “For me here is an act of solidarity here.”
Justice Sotomayor’s comments came in A charged settingDuring an award ceremony in the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Trump has generally been critical of the Smithsonian what he called The approval of “a division, race -oriented ideology” and the promotion of “stories that display American and Western values as inherently harmful and suppressing”.
Mr. Trump has also selected the museum, criticized An image posted on his website In 2020 about ‘whiteness and white culture’ that he said he ‘had’ hard work ‘individualism’ and ‘the nuclear family’ aspects of ‘white culture’. “
Such criticisms are part of the more general attack of the Trump government on diversity, fairness and inclusion. In her comments, Justice Sotomayor took a different opinion.
“Diversity is important because of themselves,” she said, “because it inspires everyone to believe that they are possible to help others.”
Justice Sotomayor was interviewed together with J. Michelle Childs, a federal court of the Court of Appeal in Washington, who as candidate president Joseph R. Biden Jr. belonged, taken into consideration for the Supreme Court created by the retirement in 2022 of Justice Stephen G. Breyer.
Mr. Biden, who promised to nominate a black woman, finally chose Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who had been on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Biden then raised judge Childs, who was a federal judge in South Carolina, to the DC circuit.
Judge Childs accepted a prize on Thursday and seemed to tackle the attacks of the Trump government on the courts.
“We are not trying to be activist judges,” she said. “We just try to maintain the constitution.”
Justice Sotomayor, 70, the first Latina member of the court, was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. Her comments came in the midst of the growing tensions between Mr Trump and the federal judiciary, whose members have blocked his initiatives in many areas, in particular immigration. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump complained about some of those statements On social media.
“Our legal system doesn’t let me do the work I was chosen,” he wrote. “Activist judges must deport Trump killers and other criminals who have entered our country illegally, without delay !!!”
In the past few days, two other members of the Supreme Court have emphasized the importance of judicial independence. On Wednesday, at a judicial conference in Buffalo, Echoed, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. A statement he issued in March After Mr. Trump called for the accusation of judges who had ruled against him.
“Accusation is not how you don’t even register with a decision,” said the supreme judge on Wednesday.
Last week, at a judicial conference in Puerto Rico, Justice Jackson criticized What they said were “ruthless attacks” About judges, together with an intimidation environment that “ultimately runs the risk of undermining our constitution and the rule of law.”
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