The New York Times column on Sonia Sotomayor gave a good view into their method of thinking when it come to Supreme Court Justices.
Judge Sotomayor’s colleagues on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit say her tough and direct questioning reflects engagement and, sometimes, an effort to persuade her colleagues. Those qualities, coupled with a gregarious personality, they said, make her a powerful force behind the scenes, where she has used her mastery of the cases to change minds, improve opinions and forge consensus.
Those skills, some observers say, could make her an able politician on the Supreme Court and allow her to serve as an intellectual counterweight to Justice Antonin Scalia.
The Supreme Court is not the venue for Politicians, according to the great legal commentator and Jurist, Joseph Story.
The truth is, that, even with the most secure tenure of office, during good behavior, the danger is not, that the judges will be too firm in resisting public opinion, and in defence of private rights or public liberties; but, that they will be ready to yield themselves to the passions, and politics, and prejudices of the day.
The Court was intended to be separate from the political arena, because the Justices were to be impartial. A politician cannot be impartial. By this admission from the New York Times, Judge Sotomayor isn’t qualified to sit on any bench, much less the Supreme Court.
