I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.
Sonia SotomayorDon't be shy about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing.
Sonia SotomayorI've never wanted to get adjusted to my income, because I knew I wanted to go back to public service. And in comparison to what my mother earns and how I was raised, it's not modest at all. I have no right to complain.
Sonia SotomayorPeople in some situations act worse than animals. You can't be a judge if you try to be a robot. Because then you're not going to be able to look at both sides, and hear both sides. At the same time, if you're being ruled by emotion, then you're not being fair and impartial.
Sonia SotomayorThe worst thing you want is a willy-nilly judge who is swayed by the political whims of the era or the time. What you want is a judge who is thinking about what he or she is doing and is thinking about it in a principled way.
Sonia SotomayorI accept the proposition that...โto judge is an exercise of powerโ and because...โthere is no objective stance but only a series of perspectives โ no neutrality, no escape from choice in judging,โ I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions.
Sonia Sotomayor