Breaking: Sotomayor Made Same “Wise Woman” Speech In 1990s

phattonez said:

The person who says that personal experience does not affect judgment will try harder to separate his emotions from his decision. The person who accepts that it is there will try less to separate his emotions from his decision. That's how I would bet my money.

Besides:

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But you have absolutely no way of knowing that based solely on those facts.

A plausible argument could be made that the person who acknowledges the effect that personal experience has on decision-making is thus more prepared to limit its impact than someone who refuses to admit that it exists.

Who's more likely to get hit by a car while crossing the street - the person who acknowledges that you can get hit by cars and thus keeps their head up, or the person who refuses to acknowledge the existence of cars altogether or denies that they could ever hit him?

RightinNYC said:

But you have absolutely no way of knowing that based solely on those facts.

A plausible argument could be made that the person who acknowledges the effect that personal experience has on decision-making is thus more prepared to limit its impact than someone who refuses to admit that it exists.

Who's more likely to get hit by a car while crossing the street - the person who acknowledges that you can get hit by cars and thus keeps their head up, or the person who refuses to acknowledge the existence of cars altogether or denies that they could ever hit him?

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But she's saying more than that. She's not just acknowledging it, she's saying that there is a scale of experiences and that her's is better than others.

phattonez said:

But she's saying more than that. She's not just acknowledging it, she's saying that there is a scale of experiences and that her's is better than others.

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Again, I still don't see how that proves your argument. Everyone thinks their opinion is better than that of others, otherwise it wouldn't be their opinion.

Why does it matter if Sotomayor thinks her opinion is better because she's a latina chick while Scalia thinks his opinion is better because he says he doesn't let his personal views affect his jurisprudence? From my perspective, the effect will often be the same.

The only time there is cause for concern is when a judge is using their personal experience as a substitute for their logical reasoning to the detriment of the law moreso than would otherwise happen with a judge who professes not to let his experiences impact his decision-making. If someone wants to make that argument re: Sotomayor, they're more than welcome. I just haven't really heard it yet.

RightinNYC said:

Again, I still don't see how that proves your argument. Everyone thinks their opinion is better than that of others, otherwise it wouldn't be their opinion.

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She didn't just say herself, she said everyone like her.

Why does it matter if Sotomayor thinks her opinion is better because she's a latina chick while Scalia thinks his opinion is better because he says he doesn't let his personal views affect his jurisprudence? From my perspective, the effect will often be the same.

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Not the same. Sotomayor will look to her emotions while Scalia will look to the law. Huge difference for society.

phattonez said:

She didn't just say herself, she said everyone like her.

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She was speaking colloquially. It's a turn of phrase related to an old aphorism.

Not the same. Sotomayor will look to her emotions

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Link?
What percent of the time?

while Scalia will look to the law.

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Link?
What percent of the time?

Huge difference for society.

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The fact that Scalia says he bases his decisions on the law and law alone doesn't mean that he always does that. See Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005) (Scalia, J., Concurring).