Wanted: Fresh Perspective on the Supreme Court

Since U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his intention to resign, my hope has been that President Obama would enrich the bench by appointing a woman -- and that he would select one with tremendous legal skills who reflected the nation's ethnic, racial or cultural diversity.
U.S. Judge Sonia Sontomayor of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Second Circuit, is one of the names being mentioned as a potential appointee to replace Souter. The 55-year-old judge may not be Obama's final choice, but I like the cultural narrative she represents -- the daughter of Puerto Rican parents in the South Bronx -- her father a laborer and her mom a nurse. Sontomayor said in a story for the American Bar Association that at age nine or 10, she wanted to be a detective like the mystery book character Nancy Drew, but figured she couldn't because she contracted diabetes at age eight. Then she discovered TV's Perry Mason.

Sontomayor also is a woman with Ivy League roots, having attended Princeton University and Yale Law School. She has worked as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney's office and in private practice. On being a judge, here's a quote from the American Bar Association:


Sontomayor, and other candidates like her, could bring a fresh perspective, as well as extensive legal experience, that widens the cultural depth of the court. That's imperative for whomever the appointee is. Male or female. For if the court does not more closely represent the country it governs, it runs the risk of leading with a hollow voice in a nation with swiftly changing demographics, needs and challenges.

The law must be applied, but the heart of the law must not be neglected. Can a court fully lead with wisdom and sensitivity if its intellectual reach is limited because it lacks a larger collective of cultural insight?