PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor

With Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings taking place this week,
following are experts who can discuss the confirmation process and other
issues related to Sotomayor's nomination:
1. FREDERICK DOUGLASS OPIE, associate professor of history and director of
the African Diaspora studies program at MARIST COLLEGE in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.:
"Judge Sotomayor appears confirmation-proof. Obama's appointment of a Latina
to the nation's highest court was extremely savvy. Her nomination gives the
president new supporters, particularly among people of Latin American descent
across the nation and in Latin America. Continued attempts by some ultra-
conservative Republicans to portray the judge as not intellectual enough after
graduating from Princeton at the top of her class and Yale Law School,
ethnocentric and/or a feminist will only alienate those Hispanic voters still
in the GOP camp." Interethnic contact informs Opie's writing and teaching. He
is the author of "Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America" (Columbia
University Press, 2008). His most recent book is "Black Labor Migration in
Caribbean Guatemala, 1882-1923" (University of Florida Press, 2009), which
looks at labor and ethnic relations in a developing Afro-Hispanic diaspora on
the Caribbean coast of Guatemala within the global context of the railroad and
banana industries and Marcus Garvey's United Negro Improvement Association. He
is currently writing a history of African-American and Latino relations in New
York from 1959 to 2008, and lives with his wife and two children in New York's
historic Hudson Valley. Opie is fluent in Spanish. News Contact: Tim Massie,
Timmian.Massie@marist.edu Phone: +1-845-575-3171 (7/13/09)
2. MADHAVI MCCALL, political science professor at SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY,
is an expert on judicial politics, specifically the impact of gender on the
bench. She is available to comment on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as the
next Supreme Court justice. McCall can address what impact Sotomayor would
have on the ideological makeup of the court; the confirmation process; how the
reverse discrimination case in New Haven, Conn., being reviewed by the Supreme
Court might affect that process; and how Sotomayor's background could spur
change in the way future nominations are considered. McCall's commentary on
the Supreme Court nominee at SDSU NewsCenter can be accessed at the link
listed below. She also speaks Gujarti, an Indo-Aryan language. News Contact:
Gina Jacobs, gina.jacobs@sdsu.edu Phone: +1-619-594-4563 Web site:
http://www.sdsuniverse.info/sdsu_newscenter/news.aspx?s=71347 (6/4/09)
3. DR. BARBARA A. PERRY, Carter Glass Professor of Government at SWEET BRIAR
COLLEGE in Virginia, is a former Judicial Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court and
recently worked at Sen. Mitch McConnell's Center at the University of
Louisville: "In nominating Sotomayor, Obama has followed a tradition that
dates to George Washington, who named justices based on their geographic
diversity. Successive presidents used religion, race and gender to create a
'representative' court. Now Obama seeks to establish the 'Hispanic' seat among
'The Supremes.' Such appointees can be symbolic representatives, merely
possessing the same characteristics of the groups they resemble; think:
Clarence Thomas. Or they can be both symbols and active representatives of
their constituencies: witness Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O'Connor. Like
Reagan, who courted women voters with O'Connor's appointment, Obama has
electoral designs on the Hispanic vote in naming the first Latina justice.
Moreover, Sotomayor will add another sorely needed woman's voice to Supreme
Court debates." Perry is the author of eight books, including "'The Supremes':
An Introduction to the Supreme Court Justices," "A 'Representative' Supreme
Court: Religion, Race and Gender in Appointments," "The Priestly Tribe: The
Supreme Court's Image in the American Mind" and "Freedom and the Court: Civil
Rights and Liberties in the United States" (with Henry J. Abraham). Perry has
been featured on MSNBC, C-SPAN, CNN.com, NPR, PRI, BBC, Radio Free Europe, and
is a regular guest on Wisconsin Public Radio's "At Issue." She has been quoted
by all major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and
USA Today, as well as all major newspaper chains. Web site:
http://www.sbc.edu/news/experts/perry_barbara (5/27/09)
4. CHARLES W. DUNN, dean of the REGENT UNIVERSITY School of Government in
Virginia Beach, Va., is a seasoned political analyst and historian. He
recently wrote "The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership" (Prentice-Hall,
2007), in which he analyzes how presidents can use Supreme Court nominations
to benefit them politically. Dunn: "Politically, President Obama hit a 'hole-
in-one' with the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. With one nomination, he
has rewarded three groups vital to his election -- women, Latinos and Roman
Catholics -- and he has backed Republicans into a corner. How can Republicans
risk alienating America's fastest growing population, Latinos? More
particularly, how can Republicans, especially senators who voted to confirm
her for the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals, afford to
oppose her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court? Because Judge Sotomayor has
rendered both liberal and conservative decisions from the bench, she does not
fit the stereotype of a flame-throwing left-winger, which strengthens
President Obama's effort to govern more as a center-left president, much like
Bill Clinton, who outfoxed conservatives and Republicans for eight years. In
short, Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor is a stroke of political genius.
Conservatives may grumble and growl, but, politically, there is not much they
can do to thwart the nomination. Her nomination will give fresh fodder to
conservative radio and television talk shows, such as Sean Hannity and Rush
Limbaugh, but beyond increasing their Nielsen ratings, conservatives have
little hope for success." Dunn's former political posts include serving as a
special assistant to the Minority Whip of the United States House of
Representatives, deputy director of the House and chief of staff to a United
States senator from New York. News Contact: David Teicher, dteicher@5wpr.com
Phone: +1-646-452-6418 (5/27/09)
5. ASHLEY HORNE, federal policy analyst for FOCUS ON THE FAMILY ACTION: "With
President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court,
the country is again confronted with the question: What type of justices
should sit on the court? Americans overwhelmingly support justices who base
decisions on the law and the Constitution, practice judicial restraint and
believe judges should never make policy. From what we know about her, though,
Judge Sotomayor considers policy-making to be among a judge's roles, no matter
what the law says. She disregards the notion of judicial impartiality, even
stating that as a Latina woman with her life experience, she should 'more
often than not' reach a better conclusion than a 'white male who hasn't lived
that life.' The president's professed desire for judges with 'empathy,' rather
than impartiality, might deny the country what the Founding Fathers intended
and wrote into the Constitution -- judges who dispense justice without regard
for the status of any party that comes before them." Horne is based in
Colorado Springs, Colo. (MDT). News Contact: Devon Williams,
Devon.williams@fotf.org Phone: +1-719-268-4814 (5/27/09)
6. IVAN BODENSTEINER, professor of law at the VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY School of
Law in Valparaiso, Ind.: "Judge Sotomayor appears to be an excellent choice
because of her credentials, including her experience and academic background.
In addition, her confirmation will bring the court one step closer to
reflecting the population our justice system is supposed to serve. Some of the
comments that have appeared in the news -- such as 'identity politics matter
to (President Obama) more than merit' and 'she has an expansive view of the
role of the judiciary' -- miss the mark, because her merit matches that of
current members of the court and the role of the court, at least since Marbury
v. Madison (1803), has included determining the constitutionality of
legislative as well as executive actions." Bodensteiner's research and
teaching interests include constitutional law, evidence and civil rights. A
member of the American Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association and
the American Civil Liberties Union, he has published several articles related
to constitutional and civil rights law, including "The Supreme Court as a
Major Barrier to Racial Equality" and "The Demise of the First Amendment as a
Guarantor of Religious Freedom." He also is co-author of the four-volume
treatise, "State and Local Government Civil Rights Liability." He joined
Valpo's law faculty in 1972 and served as dean for six years. News Contact:
Dustin Wunderlich, dustin.wunderlich@valpo.edu Phone: +1-219-464-5114
(5/27/09)
7. CHRISTINE NEMACHECK, associate professor of government at the COLLEGE OF
WILLIAM AND MARY: "President Obama's selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals is historic as the first nomination of a
Hispanic candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. However, in several ways, the
choice itself, as well as the process of selecting Judge Sotomayor, was
predictable and consistent with past appointments to the court. Just as
presidents before him have done, President Obama acted strategically in the
selection process to lessen his uncertainty as to how his future candidate
would decide cases on the Supreme Court, and to limit his uncertainty
surrounding the Senate's confirmation decision." Nemacheck recently wrote a
book on the Supreme Court nomination process, titled "Strategic Selection:
Presidential Nomination of Supreme Court Justices from Herbert Hoover through
George W. Bush" (University of Virginia Press, 2007). News Contact: Erin
Zagursky, eazagu@wm.edu Phone: +1-757-221-1020 (5/27/09)
8. JOHN F. BOWEN, partner at FORD & HARRISON LLP's Minneapolis office:
"President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court to
replace retiring Justice David Souter is a particularly divisive choice, in
light of Sotomayor's reputation as a far-left activist judge throughout her
judicial career. If confirmed, however, Sotomayor's elevation to the Supreme
Court from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will not likely
change the ideological composition of the court, because she would replace
another liberal voice in Justice Souter. Despite Sotomayor's qualifications,
most conservatives will likely challenge her nomination because of her liberal
approach to constitutional issues and questions of law. For example, her
statement that the Courts of Appeal are where policy is made reflects an
almost callous disregard for the framework of the Constitution and the
separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches
of the federal government. Moreover, the recent controversial decision in
Ricci v. Destefano regarding the New Haven firefighters -- essentially
upholding reverse discrimination against whites -- suggests that she favors
reaching a particular policy outcome in crafting judicial decisions, rather
than the application of the rule of law." News Contact: Valerie S. Crow,
vcrow@fordharrison.com Phone: +1-404-888-3855 (5/27/09)
9. TIM O'BRIEN, distinguished visiting professor of law at NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
UNIVERSITY in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: "The president is sending a message of
hope to the disadvantaged with a nominee who has taken the long route from the
projects of the South Bronx to the highest court in the land. She will
perpetuate a liberal voice on the court for another generation. A president's
Supreme Court appointment is often the most enduring legacy they ever have,
and that could well be the case here. She may have trouble during confirmation
hearings if she suggests that she's going to decide cases on where her heart
lies or let empathy figure into her decision-making process. But at her
opening statement, she talked about the rule of law and the importance of
deciding cases on what the law says. If she sticks to that, she should have no
problem being confirmed." News Contact: Laura Snyder, laura@dickjonescomm.com
Phone: +1-347-240-4745 (5/27/09)
10. PAULA MONOPOLI, Marbury Research Professor of Law and founding director
of the Women, Leadership and Equality Program at the UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
School of Law: "Judge Sotomayor brings not only a diversity of experience in
the legal profession to the court, she also brings her unique life experience
as a Hispanic woman. More than 50 percent of our population is female, yet we
currently have only one woman on the court, Justice Ginsburg, more than 25
years after the first woman was appointed. While Sotomayor will interpret the
Constitution and statutes with the same intellectual rigor as her male
colleagues, her diverse life experiences enable her to give different weight
to certain elements in that interpretive process. This is why diversity of
experience and gender on the bench is so essential. In the early days of our
country, geographic diversity was considered vital to the legitimacy of the
court's decisions. For the same reasons, diversity of experience is important
today if citizens are to continue to embrace the court's decisions." News
Contact: Jeffrey Raymond, jraymond@umaryland.edu Phone: +1-410-706-3803
(5/27/09)
11. ELIZABETH KELLEY is a Cleveland-based criminal defense attorney: "Judge
Sotomayor is a superb choice, and I hope the Senate confirms her before it
recesses for summer. She would bring sterling credentials to the court, but I
am particularly impressed by the fact that she knows the cases before her
involve flesh-and-blood human beings. In a 1998 interview, she described how
horrible she felt when she first started as a judge and sent her first
defendant to prison. Criminal cases frequently come before the court, and we
need not only someone who has experiences with those issues as a former
prosecutor, but also someone who knows that her decisions have real-world
consequences for victims and defendants, as well as their families." With a
tireless commitment to justice and exceptional legal skills, Kelley helps
individuals navigate the criminal court systems. She specializes in
representing individuals with mental illness. She has experience with all
types of serious felonies, including cyber crimes and Ponzi schemes. Kelley is
often asked by various television and radio programs to comment on celebrities
in legal trouble. News Contact: Mark Goldman, markgoldman73@gmail.com Phone:
+1-516-639-0988 Web site: http://www.elizabethkelleylaw.com (5/27/09)
12. BRUCE MURPHY, Fred Morgan Kirby Professor of Government and Law at
LAFAYETTE COLLEGE in Easton, Pa., is a U.S. Supreme Court expert. He spent the
spring semester with his seminar class of seniors reviewing 17 of the possible
candidates for the next vacancy on the Supreme Court. The class came to the
conclusion that from a political point of view, Obama's best choice might be a
Hispanic appointment, thus creating a Hispanic seat on the court: "With calls
for putting another woman on the court, both of these strategies would seem to
tip the choice toward 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (NY) Justice Sonia
Sotomayor." Murphy is the author of a trio of books on Supreme Court justices:
"Wild Bill: The Legend and Life of William O. Douglas" (2003), "Fortas: The
Rise and Ruin of a Supreme Court Justice" (1988) and "The Brandeis/Frankfurter
Connection: The Secret Political Activities of Two Supreme Court Justices"
(1982). He is also the author or co-author of two college textbooks,
"Portraits of American Politics: A Reader" and "Approaching Democracy: An
Introduction to American Government," now in its fourth edition. News Contact:
Rita Malone-Sorensen, maloner@lafayette.edu Phone: +1-610-330-5690 (5/27/09)
13. ROBERT SCHAPIRO, constitutional law expert at EMORY UNIVERSITY School of
Law: "A first-term president is 'always campaigning,' so the nomination of
federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a Hispanic, should not come as a surprise. I've
been expecting the same political savvy that got the chief executive elected
to guide the president's first nomination to the high court. President Obama
has shown centrist tendencies, including his support of the court's decision
in the D.C. v. Heller case upholding the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Obama also criticized the decision in the Kennedy v. Louisiana case, holding
it unconstitutional to apply the death penalty to child rapists. Those
instincts toward moderation apply to Supreme Court appointments as well. Most
had speculated that the next appointment would be a woman, and I'd expected
Sotomayor to be at the top of anyone's list." Schapiro served as a clerk for
U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. He is the author of a new book,
"Polyphonic Federalism," arguing that the relationship between the states and
the national government is among the most contested issues in the United
States. Schapiro is based in Atlanta. News Contact: Elaine Justice,
elaine.justice@emory.edu Phone: +1-404-727-0643 (5/27/09)
14. ARTHUR LEAVENS, professor at the WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE School of
Law: "Judge Sotomayor has already weighed in on one hot-button issue that may
well soon come before the court, and that is the reach of the newly
resurrected Second Amendment right to bear arms. In Heller, the Supreme Court
held that the Second Amendment protected an individual's right to bear arms in
his or her home, striking down Washington, D.C.'s very restrictive gun ban.
However, since Washington, D.C., is a federal enclave, Heller left unresolved
the important question of whether the Second Amendment applies to the states
(as opposed to just the federal government). This question, technically
whether the Second Amendment's protections are incorporated into the 14th
Amendment's due-process protections and are thus applicable to the states, is
open. If the Supreme Court were to hold that the Second Amendment is not
incorporated into the 14th Amendment's due-process clause, it would leave the
states and localities free to ban guns as they see fit, considerably reducing
the impact of Heller. In Maloney v. Cuomo, decided this past February, the
Second Circuit held that the Second Amendment's protections are not
incorporated into the 14th Amendment and thus do not apply to the states.
Judge Sotomayor joined in that opinion." Leavens is based in Springfield,
Mass. News Contact: David Stawasz, dstawasz@wnec.edu Phone: +1-413-796-2026
(5/27/09)
15. PATRICIA LEARY has been teaching law for the last 20 years and is a
distinguished professor at WHITTIER LAW SCHOOL. She is an expert in
constitutional law and women and the law. As a professor at one of the most
diverse law schools in the country, she broaches issues of race and gender in
all of her classes. Leary can discuss the term "judicial activist" being used
to describe Judge Sonia Sotomayor: "The law is made of words. Those of us who
teach and study law care about words a great deal. Words can be used to
clarify and enlighten, or they can be used to obscure and distract. If I were
granted three wishes for this confirmation process, I would use one of them to
banish the deliberately inflammatory and meaningless term 'judicial activism'
from the national conversation. Let's use this opportunity to begin and
continue a deeper dialogue about law and the role of the United States Supreme
Court in our system of government." Leary is located in the Los Angeles area.
News Contact: Ana Lilia Barraza, abarraza@whittier.edu Phone: +1-562-907-4912
(5/27/09)
16. DR. JOHN NEU is a lawyer and political science professor at WHITTIER
COLLEGE who teaches courses in constitutional law, judicial process and
behavior, administrative law and criminal justice, and business law: "I think
the GOP is going to have big problems with Hispanic voters during the next
elections if they come out in strong opposition to her appointment, being that
she is the first Latina nominated to this post." Neu is also active in the gay
rights movement, and is writing a book on how the law, legal structures and
institutions, and the personnel who service them relate to gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) persons. Neu is located in the Los Angeles
area. News Contact: Ana Lilia Barraza, abarraza@whittier.edu Phone: +1-562-
907-4912 (5/27/09)
17. STEVE MILLOY, lawyer, publisher of JUNKSCIENCE.COM and author of "Green
Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to
Stop Them": "Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor represents a potential
threat to U.S. consumers and the economy, in terms of energy and the
environment. She sided with extreme environmental groups who had sued the EPA
because the agency permitted cost-benefit analysis to be used in the
determination of environmental protection technology for power plants.
Fortunately, Judge Sotomayor's decision was overturned by the Supreme Court
this past April. Had the EPA been required to abide by Judge Sotomayor's
decision, American consumers would have been forced to pay billions of dollars
more in energy costs every year. Judge Sotomayor seems to lack the common-
sense realization that the benefits of environmental regulation must outweigh
its costs -- a position with ominous implications, given the nation's present
rush toward cap-and-tax global warming regulation." Milloy is based in
Washington, D.C. News Contact: Audrey Mullen, audrey@advocacyink.com Phone:
+1-703-548-1160 (5/27/09)
18. VINCENT MARTIN BONVENTRE, professor at ALBANY LAW SCHOOL, provided the
following commentary on a recent blog post at NewYorkCourtWatcher.com: "Sonia
Sotomayor. She would seem to have it all. Certainly, for a president looking
for a well-qualified, politically appealing Supreme Court nominee. (At least
on paper.)" Bonventre teaches, comments and advises on courts, judges and
various areas of public law. His particular focus is on the judicial process,
civil rights and liberties, criminal law, state constitutional adjudication,
the Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals. He has authored numerous
works on these subjects. News Contact: Nick Crounse, NCrou@AlbanyLaw.edu
Phone: +1-518-445-3208 Web site: http://www.newyorkcourtwatcher.com (5/27/09)
19. Following are experts from THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS, School of
Law who are available to comment:
-- KEVIN JOHNSON, dean of the School of Law and professor of Chicana/o
studies, is an expert on gender and racial diversity on the bench, as well as
on the role that race plays in federal judicial appointments. A specialist in
civil rights and immigration law, Johnson is the author of "On the Appointment
of a Latina/o to the Supreme Court," an article in the summer 2008 issue of
the Hispanic National Bar Association Journal of Law & Policy. Johnson is the
first Latino dean of a University of California law school.
-- VIKRAM AMAR, professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs,
spoke at Santa Clara Law School in Santa Clara, Calif., earlier this year on
the implications of changing Supreme Court personnel. A former law clerk for
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Amar writes, teaches and
consults in constitutional law, civil procedure and remedies. He is a co-
author of the 2005 book "Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials" and has
published in a variety of journals, including the Yale Law Journal, the
Stanford Law Review and the Cornell Law Review. Amar authors a biweekly column
on constitutional matters for FindLaw.com.
-- JOHN OAKLEY, law professor, is a nationally known expert on the workings of
federal courts. He predicted that President Obama, as a former professor of
constitutional law, would personally evaluate the writings of prospective
candidates to replace Souter. Oakley has co-authored many texts and case books
on civil procedure and the federal courts.
-- DIANE MARIE AMANN, professor of law and director of the UC Davis California
International Law Center at King Hall, can comment on the impact of a new
justice on the court's approach to Iraq war-related issues. Amann's recent
works have focused on legal responses to U.S. policies on executive detention
at Guantanamo and elsewhere, and on the use of foreign and international law
in U.S. constitutional decision-making. She served as a law clerk for U.S.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
-- ADELA DE LA TORRE, professor and chair of Chicana/o studies at UC Davis, is
an expert on Hispanic culture in the United States. She is available to talk
about the cultural importance to Hispanics, especially Hispanic women, of
having a Hispanic Supreme Court judge. She can also talk about issues of
importance to Hispanics that may come before the court. De la Torre is fluent
in Spanish.
News Contact: Pamela Wu, pcwu@ucdavis.edu Phone: +1-530-754-7173 (5/27/09)
20. DION FARGANIS is an assistant professor of political science at BOWLING
GREEN UNIVERSITY specializing in the United States Supreme Court and
constitutional law. His primary areas of expertise are constitutional law,
Supreme Court justices, judicial decision making and the American judicial
process. Farganis's research examines how Supreme Court justices make
decisions and whether they are influenced by public opinion. He also studies
how justices use their written opinions to pressure other justices into
changing their views. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the
University of Minnesota. News Contact: Scott Alan Borgelt, sborgel@bgsu.edu
(5/27/09)
21. WILSON HUHN, professor at THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON in Akron, Ohio, is a
constitutional law expert. In a recent blog post, "What Does the Supreme Court
Need More - Judicial or Practical Experience?" (Akron Law Cafe, May 13), which
can be accessed at the second link listed below, Huhn discussed whether
Obama's nominee should have been an actual sitting judge or rather a lawyer
with more real-world, practical experience. He is fluent in French. News
Contacts: Laura Martinez Massie, massie1@uakron.edu Phone: +1-330-972-6476,
and Diana Vickers, diana@uakron.edu Phone: +1-330-972-2063 Web site:
http://www.uakron.edu/law/lawfaculty/huhn.php and
http://www.ohioverticals.com/blogs/akron_law_cafe/category/wilsonhuhn/
(5/27/09)
22. PAUL LEVINSON, professor of communication and media studies at FORDHAM
UNIVERSITY, specializes in issues pertaining to the First Amendment, the FCC
and media law. In a recent blog post, "Sotomayor's Anti-First Amendment
Decision Should Disqualify Her for Supreme Court," which can be accessed at
the link listed below, Levinson opposed the Sotomayor nomination due to the
judge's stance on the First Amendment, as exemplified by her court's decision
in Doninger v. Niehoff. Levinson is based in The Bronx, N.Y. News Contact: Syd
Steinhardt, steinhardt@fordham.edu Phone: +1-212-636-6534 Web site:
http://paullevinson.blogspot.com (5/27/09)
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