Melissa Poggioli

Professor Soto

Honors Seminar 122

22 May 2020

The Puerto Rican Influence on the First Latina Supreme Court Justice

“It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand” (Sonia Sotomayor). Despite the fact that Sonia Sotomayor was born to her Puerto Rican parents in the United States, she never let her Puerto Rican roots fade from her life. She always kept her identity close to her heart as she navigated the new challenges she was faced with. Her cultural identity has played a major role throughout her life from participating in college activities to making court decisions in both the lower courts she took part in and the Supreme Court. Sotomayor has become a perfect example for other immigrants to look up to because she persevered through the early stages of her life in New York City, her early career as a lawyer, and then made her way to the highest court in the country, the United States Supreme Court. With doing that, she made history as the first Latina Supreme Court Justice and she also became the third woman in Untied States history to serve on the Supreme Court. She now serves as an inspiration to many other Latina women in New York City. She is not afraid to share her opinions and stand up for what she believes is right during court cases, and this is because Sotomayor is deeply connected to her Puerto Rican roots. She is influenced by her background and experiences while making court decisions because her culture plays such a major role in her life. In her speech given in 2001 at the Judge Mario G. Olmos Memorial Lecture titled “A Latina Judge’s Voice,” Sotomayor addresses the reasons why the decisions she makes are and will be influenced by her Puerto Rican background.

Sonia Maria Sotomayor was born on June 25, 1954 in the Bronx, New York. Her parents, Juan and Celina Baez Sotomayor, moved to New York City from Puerto Rico to raise their two children during World War II. Growing up, her family lived a very modest lifestyle due to their income. Her mother worked as a nurse in a methadone clinic and her father worked as a tool-and-die worker. They lived in the housing projects, which is where a lot of Puerto Rican immigrants moved to when they arrived in New York City. In 1963, Sotomayor’s father passed away leaving her mother, now a single parent, to work long hours and raise their children alone. At this time, Sotomayor’s mother began pushing her to pursue a higher education and become fluent in English. Her mother knew that a good education would be crucial in her children’s lives if they wanted to be successful. Her mother made many sacrifices in order to purchase the proper materials needed for school. In her free time, Sotomayor watched the crime show Perry Mason. It was about a criminal defense lawyer from Los Angeles who defended people that were falsely accused of a crime. This is where her initial interest in the justice system came from. Watching this show made Sotomayor realize that she wanted to be a judge. [2, 4, 7]

Many Americans are confused on how an immigrant child born in the United States could still have such close ties to his or her parents’ culture, that they were never truly a part of. Sotomayor says that many people wonder how children “born in this completely different American culture, still identify so strongly with those communities in which their parents were born and raised” (Sotomayor, “A Latina Judge’s Voice”). Although Sotomayor was not born and raised in Puerto Rico, her family made an effort to help her embrace and learn about her culture. As a child she was constantly surrounded by her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and extended family. She participated in all of the family holiday traditions and special events. She ate traditional Puerto Rican foods such as rice, beans, pork, and even pig’s feet. Unlike many other children born in the United States from Puerto Rican parents, Sotomayor learned to speak Spanish. She spent weekends listening to her culture’s music and watching cultural movies at the theater. All of these things helped to contribute to Sotomayor’s developing Puerto Rican culture. Sotomayor and her family had many shared experiences that would influence her for the rest of her life. She was raised by her family in the Puerto Rican culture which made it a big part of her life, and even though she was born in America she was still a Puerto Rican.

Sotomayor graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx in 1972 and moved on to Princeton University for college. She was overwhelmed being in this new environment, and found herself needing to take more English and writing classes to perfect her skills. She was happy to get involved with the Puerto Rican groups on campus because they provided her with a sense of comfort in her new school. She also began working with Princeton’s discipline committee where she started to learn legal skills. She graduated summa cum laude, meaning with the highest distinction, from Princeton University. At this time, she was also awarded the Pyne Prize, the highest academic award given out to Princeton undergraduates. Within the same year of her college graduation, Sotomayor had already entered Yale Law School. During law school, she worked as an editor for the Yale Law Journal. When Sotomayor graduated from law school in 1979, she got a job as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She kept this job, working as a trial lawyer responsible for robbery, murder, and assault for five years. Then, in 1984, she opened up her own practice in a law firm in New York where she focused on intellectual property and copyright cases. During this time Sotomayor also served on the board of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. [2, 4, 7]

Due to her hard work, in 1992 President George H.W. Bush nominated Sotomayor to be a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York City. She was the courts youngest judge. During her time on this court she became well known for dealing with the case of the Major League Baseball team. She ruled in favor of the players who were on strike. They were suing the team’s owners for their bad decisions and Sotomayor placed an order against the owners to prevent these decisions from being made. Baseball fans were very thankful for this decision because it brought back the sport that they loved. In 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated Sotomayor to become a judge of the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Republican senators ignored this nomination for over a year. They were fearful that if Sotomayor was given the position on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals it would lead to her receiving a Supreme Court nomination. Eventually, she was appointed to the court. During her time serving on this court, Sotomayor began teaching law as an adjunct professor. [2, 4, 7]

In May 2009, Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement so that he could move back home to New Hampshire. This created an opening for a new Supreme Court Justice. On May 26, 2009 President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to be the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Initially, people were skeptical of this nomination since the appointment to the Supreme Court is for life. People were worried about Sotomayor’s health considering she has diabetes. People questioned how long she would actually be able to last as a Supreme Court Justice. They were worried about her nomination knowing some of the decisions she made in the lower courts. Although she may have been making the right decision, it was controversial and many people did not support it. Despite these challenges, Sotomayor’s nomination was confirmed in August 2009 and she became the first Latina Supreme Court Justice and the third woman in Untied States history. This was a big step for all Hispanic people because now they would see someone from a similar situation to their own contributing to some of the county’s biggest court decisions. [2, 4, 7]

The job of a Supreme Court Justice is to defend the highest law in the land, the United States Constitution. They should be free of all assumptions, biases, and outside influences that could affect their decisions on properly interpreting the Constitution. They should be able to make fair and equal decisions when dealing with all different types of cases and people. In her speech, Sotomayor speaks about Judge Cederbaum, a fellow colleague who also spoke at the memorial about the influence of both women and colored people on the court. Cederbaum acknowledges the fact that individual experiences can have a strong effect on a judge’s perception, but goes on to say that she “believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and aspire to achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law” (Sotomayor, “A Latina Judge’s Voice”). Judge Cederbaum wants judges to forget about their personal beliefs and experiences when making decisions in the court. She thinks this will help judges to remain fair. Sotomayor’s background and experiences shaped her into the Supreme Court Justice that she is today. This makes it very hard for her to do as Judge Cederbaum says. Sotomayor wants to help her fellow Puerto Ricans who struggle in the United States just as she did, and show them that they can be successful too. For these reasons, Sotomayor has made it clear that her own experiences and past would have an influence on the decisions she makes.

Sonia Sotomayor believes that by ignoring what makes each person different and unique, we are damaging the law and our society. People should not hide who they really are, but rather embrace it. All judges can bring a different perspective to the court, and together these different perspectives can enhance the fairness for all people that is strived for in all courts. Sotomayor does not let her perspective on situations get overlooked. She stands up for what she believes in and is not afraid to share her opinions. Even though Sotomayor can closely relate to minority groups, as she herself is from one, the ideas she brings to the court that defend these groups of people work to give them the same benefits and opportunities as other Americans. She is not just sympathizing with these people; she is making fair decisions to help with the equality of all people.

Throughout her time as a Supreme Court Justice, Sotomayor has made it clear that her own experiences and past would have an influence on the decisions she makes. Her past experiences made her the person she is today and that is why they have such a strong influence on the decisions she makes during court cases. She wants her fellow Puerto Ricans to be successful. She shared her opinions while working on the Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action case. Affirmative action means that groups that were previously discriminated against would be favored during the acceptance process. She supports this idea because she believes that other factors, such as economic status, do not provide a diverse enough student body. Sotomayor knows that without the programs that considered race and opened the Ivy League schools to minorities, she might not have ended up in Princeton University and Yale Law School. She knew that minority groups did not always get equal treatment so she fought for minority groups to be favored during the college admission process. Due to her history, she understands the value of a good education, and thinks there should be equal opportunity for all people to obtain one. With this in mind, Sotomayor fought for universities to consider a person’s race during the acceptance process, rather than just their economic status. When considering Sotomayor’s stance on this case, one could assume she made the decision she did to help her fellow Puerto Ricans. This definitely could be true, but Sotomayor also understood that these people were not being treated fairly and knew it was her responsibility to help. If she threw her perspectives to the side and became overpowered by the other arguments, minorities would still be struggling to get into the top universities in America. Sotomayor both knows and understands these struggles, and by bringing her experiences to the court during this case, she was able to take a side and stand up for her fellow Puerto Ricans.

Throughout her speech, Sotomayor continually goes back to the point that everyone is going to have a different opinion on a topic because everyone has a different experience and thought about it. Sotomayor acknowledges that her experiences affect her decisions and this leads to her making different choices than others would make. She gives a perfect example to prove this point. Sotomayor references cases that deal with sex discrimination, and says that women tend to vote more than men to uphold other women’s claims in sex discrimination. This makes sense because these women can relate to the case, rather than the men who might not fully understand what the women are going through. Due to their own personal experiences as women, the female judges on the court are making a decision that they believe is fair and educated. It would not be right for the female judges to keep their opinions to themselves during cases like this because this is one of the instances where they can use their experiences to make a fair decision. Sotomayor hopes that in similar situations, “a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life” (Sotomayor, “A Latina Judge’s Voice”). Sotomayor does not want women to silence their ideas and opinions during court cases because their experiences are just as important as their male colleagues’ experiences. Just as gender can influence the decisions judges make, national origin can as well. In Sotomayor’s opinion, it is damaging the fairness of our law system when people put their personal experiences behind them if they could be beneficial in coming to a fair decision.

During her time on the Supreme Court, Sotomayor plans to be the wise Latina women full of experience that she talks about. She knows that she has the knowledge to make informed decisions, and she will not let anyone stop her from making those decisions. She clearly states that personal experiences can affect the facts that judges choose to see. She shares with the people listening to her speech that she hopes she will be able to extract the good and sensible pieces of her experiences, and use them to further enhance her knowledge in areas that she is not as familiar with. Sotomayor bravely states that she does not know what the differences in her judging will be, but says that “there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage” (Sotomayor, “A Latina Judge’s Voice”). She recognizes that it will take time for people to understand these differences because not everyone understands her Latina heritage, but she comforts them by saying that she realizes the power and importance that comes with her job. Sotomayor knows that she is making decisions that will affect people in major ways, and for that reason she owes them her “complete vigilance in checking assumptions, presumptions and perspectives” (Sotomayor, “A Latina Judge’s Voice”). She vows to not just simply glance over Supreme Court cases but rather take time to analyze and understand them. She understands that her limited abilities and capabilities might be challenged as circumstances and cases change, but promises to constantly reevaluate. She concludes her argument by saying that judges should not deny the differences that come from experience and heritage, but they should attempt to judge only when these factors are appropriate.

Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court was an inspiration for others that were in similar situations as hers. Many Puerto Rican families spent their early years in the United States living in the Bronx housing projects. It was expected for the women to stay home and take care of the cleaning and cooking like they did in Puerto Rico, but many women arrived in the United States and got jobs to help provide for their families. There were Latinas throughout New York City that were facing negative stereotypes due to the diversity of their Puerto Rican culture. They hoped that having a Latina become a major part of the highest court in the United States would help diminish some of these stereotypes they faced. Latina women were faced with the stereotype of being ghetto and this was very hurtful. Many hoped that seeing Sotomayor become successful would show people that Latinas were more than just ghetto, and they could live professional lives too. They hoped that Sotomayor’s appointment would help to change the image associated with Latina women. For a Latina to see someone raised similarly to them become successful in their new country was very powerful. Sotomayor became a role model to Latinas that were trying to get an education and a career. She proved that they could be successful too. [3]

When someone immigrates it means that they are moving to a place that they were not originally from. Immigrants are very brave because when they choose to leave their home they are leaving behind their country, culture, and sometimes even their family. They do not know if they will ever return home again, but they do this in the hopes of starting a new and a better life. People chose to immigrate for many different reasons. Immigrants might wish to escape the horrible conditions they are living through under a dictatorship, they might be searching for religious freedom, or they might simply be looking for a better life where their children would be receiving an advanced education and medical care. Immigrating from Puerto Rico, Sonia Sotomayor’s family was one step ahead of many other Caribbean island immigrants because when they arrived in the United States, they were already citizens. They were coming from a United States territory. Although they had citizenship in the United States, her family and other Puerto Rican immigrants faced the same struggles as all other immigrants do. Primarily, all immigrants strive to find ways to keep their culture and traditions alive in their new country. Sotomayor and her family did this by continuing to have large family celebrations and introducing the children to cultural music and movies. Immigrants also struggle with the language barrier between English and Spanish. Even though they can communicate with each other, it can be challenging to communicate with Americans that work in businesses and stores. They need to learn some English in order to properly communicate. One of the biggest challenges that new immigrants face is dealing with their financial situation. Many immigrants come to the United States with nothing and have trouble finding and keeping a job. They might find themselves living in poor neighborhoods or shelters and struggling to buy necessities such as clothing and food. All immigrants face these obstacles in some form, but find ways to persevere and make the United States their new home.

Sonia Sotomayor is a perfect role model for other immigrants hoping to find a better life in the United States. She is a good example of the classic American dream. People come to America hoping to find money and success while living out a better life than the one they previously had. Although Sotomayor was raised by her parents who had little money in the Bronx housing projects, she was able to find success in the United States. She worked hard and was very determined which helped her to obtain one of the most prestigious jobs in the country. Her mother made many sacrifices to send her to school to get the exceptional education that she has today, and it was not easy. People come to the United States hoping to find a better life, and Sonia Sotomayor did just that. She was able to transform her life from having nothing as a child to having one of the most powerful jobs in the country as an adult. Sotomayor’s story portraying the classic American dream can be used to show other Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans that the United States can be a place of success for them too. She shows that it is possible for immigrants to find success in the United States because they can relate to the same struggles and challenges that she faced. For example, Sotomayor’s financial struggle is relatable and can be seen as an encouraging story for all immigrants. It shows them the reality of how hard life will be during their initial years in New York City, but gives them hope because they can see how successful Sotomayor has become and aspire to be just as successful if they work hard.

The speech that Sotomayor gave at the Judge Mario G. Olmos Memorial Lecture titled “A Latina Judge’s Voice” was intended for court judges, however the ideas she presented can be applied to the lives of all immigrants. In her speech, Sotomayor emphasizes that judges should not forget about their background and experiences, however they should only use them to make decisions when it is appropriate. Immigrants can apply this advice to their lives as well. They should try to keep their culture, traditions, and experiences relevant in their new lives in the United States and never forget where they came from. This is important because it will help to keep their culture alive. Even though immigrant children might not be able to use Spanish in school, it is appropriate for them to learn to speak Spanish as well as English so that they can communicate with their families and new friends. Without Sotomayor’s parents continuing their Puerto Rican traditions when they arrived in the United States, Sotomayor would never have learned about that part of her culture. It is important for people to understand their culture because it helps to shape their identity. Sotomayor also addresses the idea that culture is an important part of what makes up a person and she knows that it cannot just be disregarded. Sotomayor is known to have said: “The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever.” She understands that the Latina part of her life will always be a part of her and it will never fade. All immigrants should feel this way when they arrive in New York City. They should feel welcomed and free to practice all of their culture’s traditions because as Sotomayor says, their culture will always be a part of them.

Even though Sonia Sotomayor was born and raised in New York, she grew up in the Puerto Rican culture. Outside of her family environment, Sotomayor was surrounded by a totally different culture and people that spoke a different language. Despite this, she was able to embrace the Puerto Rican traditions and language. She is confident these experiences will help her to make fair decisions during her time as a Supreme Court Justice and will not allow her opinions on familiar topics to be overlooked because of her ethnic background. Sotomayor’s life time accomplishments became not only an accomplishment, but also a major advancement for all Puerto Ricans, women, and people that have lived with financial struggles. Sotomayor is outspoken and is not afraid to share her opinions, ideas, and beliefs. Her story can encourage other Puerto Ricans to continue to move to New York City. She proved that with hard work and a good education, immigrants who start with nothing can become successful. She continues to show Puerto Ricans that coming to New York City for a new life might be a scary decision initially, but they can find success and a home in the United States too.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

  1. Barnes, Robert. “Justice Sonia Sotomayor Defends Affirmative Action.” The Washington

Post, WP Company, 22 June 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/national/justice-sonia-sotomayor-defends-affirmative-action/2014/06/22/cfdbe774-fa22-11e3-8176-f2c941cf35f1_story.html.

  1. com Editors. “Sonia Sotomayor Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks

Television, 28 Feb. 2020, www.biography.com/law-figure/sonia-sotomayor.

  1. Marks, Alexandra. “Sotomayor’s Influence: Latinas in the South Bronx Follow Her Lead.”

The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 June 2009, www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/0617/sotomayors-influence-latinas-in-the-south-bronx-follow-her-lead.

  1. Parrott-Sheffer, Chelsey. “Sonia Sotomayor United States Jurist.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 Feb. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Sonia-Sotomayor.

  1. Sotomayor, Sonia. “Lecture: ‘A Latina Judge’s Voice’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 May 2009, nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/politics/15judge.text.html?login=email&auth=login-email.
  2. “Sonia Sotomayor.” Oyez, oyez.org/justices/sonia_sotomayor.
  3. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. “Sotomayor, a Trailblazer and a Dreamer.” The New York Times, The

New York Times, 27 May 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27websotomayor.html.