When I call myself an affirmative action baby, I'm talking about the essence of what affirmative action was when it started.
Sonia SotomayorAll judges have cases that touch our passions deeply, but we all struggle constantly with remaining impartial.
Sonia SotomayorMy mom loved the book [My beloved world] and she said to me, 'I never knew you had done so much.'
Sonia SotomayorThat's why we have appellate judges that are more than one judge because each of us, from our life experiences, will more easily see different perspectives argued by parties. But judges do consider all of the arguments of litigants. I have. Most of my opinions, if not all of them, explain to parties by the law requires what it does.
Sonia SotomayorLooking out at that crowd, I imagined those who had not yet arrived, minority students who, in years to come, would make this multitude of faces, the view from where I now stood, a little more various. If they could have heard me, I would have confided in them: As you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.
Sonia Sotomayor