Sonia Sotomayor's Amazing Judicial Temperament

Judge Sonia Sotomayor has displayed admirable self-control and patience throughout this Senate hearing process. I, on the other hand, found myself yelling at the television screen more than once during the question periods from some of the senators.

The first time was when they characterized her statement about a “strong Latina woman” as a clear indication that she would rule on cases solely on the basis of her ethnicity and gender.

I shouted, “Hurray! I’m glad that you are a strong Latina woman! It’s about time that women like you had a voice on the Supreme Court.”

Time and again she had to slowly and patiently explain that the purpose of her talk, from which the quote was lifted, was to inspire students to follow her path. Time and again, she had to reassure these questioners that her only guidepost was not her personal experience, but the rule of law as defined by the Constitution.

But what made me raise my voice to a shout was that the more hostile senators could not stop interrupting her time and again, hardly ever letting her finish a sentence. How many women have experienced the same thing?

Interrupting women is considered normal. Perhaps men are not even conscious that they are doing so, and are not aware that they are treating female witnesses differently from male witnesses. I would love to replay the Roberts and Alito hearings to see how many times they were interrupted.

When a man interrupts a woman in mid-sentence it reveals much about him.

First it shows he hasn’t been listening to what she is saying and secondly, it indicates that he doesn’t want to listen to what she will say. Her views are not important. His are clearly more important and that is why he is more interested in listening to himself than to her.

Fundamentally, interruptions are just plain rude and a sign of disrespect. How she kept her cool through these constant interruptions, without once saying, “Please let me finish, Senator,” I don’t know. I can’t help but admire her for her self-control, knowledge, and yes, amazing judicial temperament.

This post was originally published on ChelseaGreen.com.

Madeleine M. Kunin is the former Governor of Vermont and was the state's first woman governor. She served as Ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and was on the three-person panel that chose Al Gore to be Clinton's VP. She is the author of Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead from Chelsea Green Publishing.

Comments

[klondiker]

She was very impressive indeed! The irony is that the only ones acting irrationally and flying off the handle were people were like Hatch and Sessions. And, if I had a nickel for every time Lindsey Graham threw a hissy fit on the Senate floor...

[IslandGyal]

I admire her keeping her cool too, since I wanted to curse at Sessions for having the gall to call or insinuate that anyone is a racist and/or bigot. These questions coming from a man who told another White man, he was a disgrace to his race for defending Black people, and saying the he thought the KKK was a good organization until he learned they smoked pot; yeah lynch innocent people because of a perceived slight, burn their houses, terrorize them by bombing and illegally detain and prosecute people because of their race, but just don't smoke pot.

These HYPOCRITES a.k.a. republicans have some fugging nerve.

[sviolette]

I imagine these men would have a little more respect if they had to face her as a judge in a trial for treason or something.

[Lee323]

Great post, Ms. Kunin.

Sotomayor's patience and equanimity throughout this process highlight even more the boorishness of some of her questioners.

[springsm]

I imagine the shouting at the TV team was rather large by the end of today. I would love to have Sotomayors mother speak her mind!! Truth is..a men who treated MS like this truckload of bozos did or are doing shows not only a lack of professional dignity, but they also dont' think she has anything to say that they NEED to hear...after all she is a woman, latina and wise...that disqualifies her to walk in the same hallway.

[redstateblue]

Thank you for giving voice to the outrage I felt while listening to Kyl and Sessions today. And the awe and admiration I felt for Judge Sotomayor. Granted, her answers showcased her intellect and experience, but such patience and calm! Even though I'm a calm person, I don't think I could have refrained from a sarcastic answer here and there.

Remember what Lindsay Graham said about a meltdown? Maybe Kyl and Sessions' racism and rudeness are attempts to provoke one.

[jazzycafe]

I also found myself yelling at the tv, at those very rude men. Ms. Sotomayor has such self control, like you said in your post. I admire her very much. I can only wonder what she really thinks of their constant interrupting and talking down to her.

[Rastageneral]

I loved this article - concise yet so full of wisdom. I believe that listening is half of the communicative process. As a man I have indeed noticed that men do tend to interrupt women perhaps unconsciously. In my modest opinion, I think interrupting is bad manners and shows a lack of a real capacity to debate in a meaningful way. I too hate to be interrupted, especially in mid-thought. When interrupted, I usually say something sarcastic like... "well, I guess I'll finish my point later then, right?". I too was amazed and proud of Sotomayor's temperament; as an Hispanic, I don't think we'll forget what Sessions & Grahams were trying to do.

[Freesia2]

I tend to agree with you about interrupting being a common trait in men - perhaps unconsciously. Conditioned maybe? I don't know. I only know that my husband, a very polite and thoughtful man, a gentleman in all other ways, interrupts me. I called him on it and you know what his response was? "I'm sorry. Interrupt me back!" I didn't much like the option, but I took him up on his offer. You know what he said? "Let me finish!" lol (In my case though I tend to be soft spoken so I think sometimes he loses the end of my sentences. I'm saying that because the economy is too rough for a divorce. :- ) )

I've admired Judge Sotomayor through all this. She's done that amazing thing that is always effective in the face of bigotry, which the GOP has unfurled in all its ugly glory through these hearings. She outclassed them. She remained pleasant, dignified, looked them straight in the eye and brought the questioning back on topic. She looked fine. Them? Not so much.

And I hope that everyone, not just Hispanic people, remember what went on here and how she responded. She's a lady and a professional.

(Good article Ms. Kunin. I was yelling too. I interrupted Jeff Sessions alot.)

[doodledotuk]

The speeches to which the GOP Senators are continually referring to were available to the judiciary committees when Judge Sotomayer was selected to her 2 previous posts and never once were they referred to as she herself said again today for the umpteenth time.
How many times does Judge Sotomayor have to say that the law always decides the outcome of any case and that anyone's personal life experiences will only equip them more beneficially to listen and understand the facts of any case???????
Clearly these so called elected republican representatives are playing a game of semantics and clutching at straws, and if i were able to legally donate to any anti GOP political cause, trust me, my wallet would be empty about now.
Disgraceful behaviour and happily the world is watching :-)

[veteran1964]

I agree.............I wasn't yelling as loud as you possibly, but I did have my numchucks sp? ready to slap a few Republicans around. I was sickened by the attitude of the Republicans. They are so damn shallow and still living in the 1700's.

[springsm]

Now wasn't THAT interesting. She did crack a smile with that absolutely insane questions.