Welcome to the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights Interview Series, a regular examination of the court cases that shape and affect our lives.
Carey Alexander at the Campaign spoke this week with César Perales, the President and General Counsel of Latino Justice PRLDEF, about Justice Sonia Sotomayor's historic confirmation. Mr. Perales served with Justice Sotomayor during her tenure as a member of PRLDEF's board. He provides excellent insight into the hearing's meaning for civil rights and the continuing politicization of the judiciary. A full version of the interview is available here.
ALEXANDER: César Perales is the President and General Counsel of PRLDEF, formerly known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. Justice Sonia Sotomayor previously served as a member of that organization's Board of Directors. We spoke to Mr. Perales on the day Justice Sotomayor was confirmed to the Supreme Court.
First, I'd like to ask you to introduce yourself and how you know Judge Sotomayor.
PERALES: I'm César Perales, and I'm the President and General Counsel of Latino Justice PRLDEF, which originally known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. I was one of the founders of the organization in 1972 and was here when Judge Sotomayor joined our board, in other words, she was a board member during a period of time in which I led the organization, and I got to know her in that relationship.
ALEXANDER: What impact will the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor have on the Supreme Court?
PERALES: Well, I think it will have an extraordinary impact. I mean, first, it's an historic appointment. She is only the third woman and she is the first Hispanic on the Court, so just in terms of her ethnic background and gender she is historic and different from the traditional appointment. I also think that she is known as a very, very strong jurist. She is a member of what is known as a 'hot bench' here in this Circuit sitting in New York. It is quite common to have aggressive questioning, very close questioning by the members of the Court. And I can fully expect and look forward to her taking that tradition from the Second Circuit to the Supreme Court of the United States. And so I think we will have some very aggressive questioning from one of the more liberal members of the Court in the coming years, that is something that I look forward to, I think it will be refreshing. And I hope that she has an impact on other members of the Court who will hear her questioning and her arguments, I think, when they sit around...when the nine justices sit around the table and talk about the decisions that are before them.
ALEXANDER: Which distinguishing elements do you think have come out of the confirmation process, especially with regard to race and rhetoric?
PERALES: Well, I think, to some of us, it's a clear signal that this is a much more divided country than it has been in the past. It's much more partisan, the cleavage between the the conservatives and the more moderates and the liberals are more clear. We were surprised that so many Republicans have come forward in the last couple days to indicate that they will vote against her. We cannot forget that, I think it was 97 to 3 that Justice Ginsburg was confirmed, and she was closely aligned with the American Civil Liberties Union. Suddenly we find that Judge Sotomayor's relationship with our organization, with a civil rights organization, is something that was held against her, that seems to be a basis for voting against her by a significant number of the Senators. I think that is not good for our nation, I think it does not speak well to the position the right-wing has taken in this country. To somehow suggest that to be involved with an organization that brought anti-discrimination lawsuits is now something evil when it is something that many of us take pride in, that we have used our legal skills on behalf of people who are victims of discrimination is a sorry state. I don't understand what is happening in this country. I would hope that pendulum will swing back toward the center, and we won't have these strident voices attacking those of us who believe in civil rights and civil liberties.
ALEXANDER: Do you think the confirmation experience has served to educate the American public, either with regards to the process or to the importance of the courts and what is going on in them now?
PERALES: I think to some extent it has. I think that there was probably much greater interest in this confirmation process than we've had ever before. So I think that that's very positive. I think what disappoints me, of course, is that it was used as a forum by right-wing senators to make attacks that I think are...may be misunderstood by the public, that somehow, for example, to bring forward the white firefighters as somehow being victims of discrimination gave, I think, the wrong impression as to what Title XII is about. And frankly, there was not much of an explanation from the other side. I think the Democrats did not take advantage of the opportunity to make it a teaching moment. I think they knew they had the votes, and they wanted to proceed and be through with this, with this process. It was probably much more of a teaching moment for the right-wing. They were the ones that pressed those arguments.
ALEXANDER: That was César Perales of Latino Justice PRLDEF.
The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights is a collection of more than 100 civil rights organizations and individuals who came together to ensure the courts protect and ensure justice, fairness and opportunity for everyone. The campaign focuses on public education and outreach, finding ways to get the message out about the impact of court rulings on our communities, our opportunities and our rights.