Confirm Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor — President Obama’s Pick Looks Good for Disability Rights

(Washington, DC) ADA Watch’s “Campaign for Fair Judges” is calling on their organizational partners and colleagues from the disability, mental health, education, civil rights and social justice communities to support Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee to fill the seat of Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

A woman, a Latino and the daughter of immigrants, Judge Sotomayor — diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 8 — is also a person with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

With the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee having set July 13th as the date for the start of confirmation hearings, ADA Watch’s president and founder, Jim Ward has indicated that Judge Sotomayor will receive the full support of ADA Watch, National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR) and many of their coalition partners.

For nearly a decade, the ADA Watch coalition of national, state and local disability, mental health, education, civil rights and social justice organizations has educated the disability community and the general public regarding the impact of the judicial nominations process on the civil rights of people with physical, mental, developmental, sensory and cognitive disabilities.

Ward was among a handful of disability community leaders that recently met with the White House Counsel’s Office to outline the priorities of the disability community regarding judicial nominations.

Ward stated, “In picking Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama has upheld his commitment to choosing a nominee with a firm grasp on the law and the role of the judiciary and has responded to the hopes of those in the disability rights movement for Supreme Court Justices that understand disability rights and the intent of Congress in passing vital civil rights protections for people with disabilities. Legal research and analysis of Judge Sotomayor’s opinions reveal a comprehensive understanding of the language and purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Rehabilitation Act, Social Security and more.”

“Furthermore,” Ward continued, “in interviews and opinions, Judge Sotomayor reveals an understanding of disability discrimination forged by the personal experience of being diagnosed with diabetes at a young age.”

In nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, President Obama said “It’s my understanding that Judge Sotomayor’s interest in the law was sparked as a young girl by reading the Nancy Drew series. And that when she was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 8, she was informed that people with diabetes can’t grow up to be police officers or private investigators like Nancy Drew. In essence she was told she’d have to scale back her dreams.” Instead, Obama said, her perseverance shows that “no dream is beyond reach in the United States of America.”

Sotomayor, of course, went on to graduate from Yale Law School and was Assistant District Attorney in New York City. She was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed in 1992. In 1997, Sotomayor was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was confirmed in 1998. If she is confirmed, Judge Sotomayor would fill the seat being vacated by Justice David H. Souter, who has had a mixed record on disability rights.

For more information regarding Judge Sotomayor’s legal opinions, see Bazelon’s review and analysis of Judge Sotomayor’s opinions in disability cases (PDF) at:

http://m1e.net/c?91346605-efnrgy0oCi8hg%404353343-XTE2wnJKzO016

Printed here with the permission of ADA Watch?NCDR