Justice Sotomayor sees crisis in politicians, media questioning legitimacy of the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Wednesday she sees a potential “crisis” as politicians and media question the legitimacy of the court.

“I have concerns that we might be in crisis,” Justice Sotomayor said at an annual event with New York University School of Law.

“As norms in the nomination process are broken, as more senators, congressional representatives, governors, mayors, local politicians and media question the legitimacy of the court, many of them heap scorn on the court,” she said. “The threat [to judicial independence] is greater and unprecedented than at any time in our history.”

The Obama appointee also said judicial philosophy is becoming “tightly interwoven” with political parties.

Justice Sotomayor warned that Supreme Court confirmation battles — having become more partisan — could jeopardize the judiciary’s independence.

“It certainly does feed into the public’s uncertainty. And that has a price,” she said. “The more partisan the voting becomes the less belief that the public is likely to have that Congress is making a merits or qualifications-based assessment of judicial nominees.”

Her comments come as President Biden prepares to nominate someone to replace Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who announced his plans to retire at the end of the court’s current term. 

In recent years, Senate Republicans and Democrats have increasingly injected politics into the Supreme Court confirmation process. 

Republicans held a vacancy open for more than a year after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, preventing then-President Obama from filling the vacancy. 

Democrats have accused the GOP of stealing the seat with the confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch in 2017, after President Trump was elected.

The confirmation hearings of Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett in subsequent years became contentious: Democrats accused Justice Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct dating back decades and targeted Justice Barrett for her Catholic faith. 

Justice Kavanaugh has denied any wrongdoing, and Justice Barrett has said religion should not influence a judge’s decisions. 

Justice Sotomayor, meanwhile, isn’t the only justice to raise concerns about politics and the high court.

In September, Justice Barrett said the judges don’t make rulings based on political views.

“My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” Justice Barrett said, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. “Judicial philosophies are not the same as political parties.”