Sotomayor Nomination Backed By Coalition Of Latino Law Professors

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s academic achievements and her extensive work as a judge on previous benches separates her from previous nominees, said a number of law professors from the organization Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary (HFJ) today during a conference call marking the announcement of a coalition of Latino law professors from around the country to support Sotomayor’s nomination by the U.S. Senate.

“[HFJ] applaud President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sotomayor…Judge Sotomayor is eminently qualified for the position of a Supreme Court Justice,” said Reynaldo Valencia, Professor and Associate Dean at St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Valencia added that Sotomayor “has served in a variety of capacities and has a broad base experience in the legal community…which would help her reach fair-minded and moderate decisions as she has done both as a district judge and now on the Court of Appeals.”

Responding to the criticism of conservatives that she is a racist judge, Bertha Hernandez, Professor of Law at the University of Florida College of Law, said that after having thoroughly read her past decisions people would experience a “pull back from this initial, very politicized rhetoric and energetic reaction to a real honest and candid review of the cases and the substance of these cases.”

Professor Valencia pointed out that “Judge Sotomayor was originally appointed to the Federal bench by a Republican President and elevated to the Second Circuit by a Democratic President” while the Congress has found her in two occasions to be very qualified for her positions.

HFJ was formed in 2005 to provide Hispanic leaders a platform to voice matters related to the U.S. judicial system.