Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told a lawyers’ conference that amid escalating criticism in the nation of some federal judges, lawyers need to “stand up” and “fight this fight.”
Sotomayor made the comments during an on-stage conversation on May 8 at an American Bar Association conference at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
The remarks by Sotomayor came after President Donald Trump, members of his administration, and Republicans in Congress have repeatedly criticized court rulings in recent months that have blocked or delayed the president’s agenda. Trump and some lawmakers have accused some judges of overstepping their authority through such rulings and called for them to be impeached.
Several federal judges have said the Trump administration has not complied with various court orders on immigration enforcement, federal spending, the firing of government employees, and foreign aid. The administration denies that it disobeyed the orders.
Sotomayor did not identify Trump or other officeholders who have criticized judges’ rulings by name.
“Our job is to stand up for people who can’t do it themselves. And our job is to be the champion of lost causes,” said the associate justice who joined the Supreme Court in 2009 after being nominated by President Barack Obama.
“But right now, we can’t lose the battles we are facing. And we need trained and passionate and committed lawyers to fight this fight.”
Sotomayor also praised “diversity,” which she said “is important for its own sake because it inspires everyone to believe that it’s possible for them to be in a position to help others.”
“I am more grateful that in my role as a public servant, I can continue to serve all communities and represent America as the very best version of itself,” she said.
Sotomayor’s comments came after two of her colleagues on the high court had also recently made public statements directed at the criticism of judges.
On May 7, Chief Justice John Roberts said an independent judiciary was needed to check the power of the president and Congress.
Judicial independence is “the only real political-science innovation in our Constitution,” said Roberts, who became chief justice in 2005 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
In the Constitution, “the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down ... acts of Congress or acts of the president,” he said.
“And that innovation doesn’t work if ... the judiciary is not independent. Its job is to ... check the excesses of Congress or of the executive, and that does require a degree of independence.”
Roberts also said, “impeachment is not how you register disagreement with [judicial] decisions.”
“That’s what we’re there for,” he said, in reference to the appeals process.
On May 1, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said that recent criticisms of judges are “attacks on our democracy.”
“The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity,” Jackson said at a judicial conference in Puerto Rico.
“The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government. And they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.”
Jackson took her seat on the high court in June 2022 after being nominated by President Joe Biden.
