Justice Brett Kavanaugh is accustomed to unrelenting personal attacks from the left that began with his nomination to the Court. This week, however, the ad hominem insults came not from cable programs but a colleague. Justice Sonia Sotomayor used an appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law to level a personal dig at Kavanaugh as an out-of-touch elitist.
I have long criticized the growing number of public statements by justices on controversial subjects and cases, including Justice Sotomayor. However, this appearance represented a new low in lashing out at a colleague as effectively blinded by his own privilege.
In her comments, Sotomayor raised Kavanaugh’s concurrence in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo:
“I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only temporary stops. This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour… Those hours that they took you away, nobody’s paying that person. And that makes a difference between a meal for him and his kids that night and maybe just cold supper…”
She then referred to her own background as giving her experience and knowledge that is apparently missing in colleagues such as Kavanaugh:
“Life experiences teach you to think more broadly and to see things others may not. And when I have a moment where I can express that on behalf of people who have no other voice, then I’m being given a very rare privilege.”
It was reminiscent of Sotomayor’s reference to being a “wise Latina” on the bench. While on the Second Circuit, then-judge Sotomayor explained that her life experiences offered a “difference” not shared by other colleagues. In a 2001 lecture at Berkeley law school titled “A Latina Judge’s Voice,” she heralded the difference that “our gender and national origins may and will make … in our judging.”
In her latest comments, she is suggesting that her interaction with hourly wage earners allows her to see things that Kavanaugh does not in these cases. The claim that she “sees things that others may not” suggests that the privileged, insulated existence of Kavanaugh blinds him to the true merits of cases before him.
Notably, Justice Sotomayor also told the students and faculty that she has a friendship with most, but apparently not all, of her colleagues:
“I dare say that with virtually all of them, I certainly have a civil relationship. And with many of them, I think I dare say that I have a friendship,”
After this speech, I would not expect a social media friend invite from Kavanaugh.
It is true that Kavanaugh went to elite schools, but so did Sotomayor, who graduated from Princeton and Yale.
Both of Kavanaugh’s parents were indeed lawyers, but it is odd that Sotomayor would miss the compelling story of his mother, Martha. She was a history professor who went to law school while raising a family and eventually became one of the minority of women on the state bench. That would also seem to be “gender origins” that Sotomayor previously cited as key in her view of impactful judging.
However, what was most striking was Sotomayor’s backhanded suggestion that Kavanaugh “doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.” The suggestion is that he has avoided — and continues to avoid — interactions with people who get paid on an hourly basis — while she is more inclusive in her circle of friends. It is obviously false, but more importantly, petty and unfair.
The attack suggests that, while she is a “wise Latina,” Kavanaugh is a privileged prig on the Court. The fact is that many blue-collar (if not most) workers identify more with aspects of Kavanaugh’s jurisprudence. At a minimum, over half of the country is more likely to embrace his approach than that of Justice Sotomayor, who has been criticized for her comments in oral argument on issues ranging from abortion to puberty blockers to COVID restrictions.
Justice Kavanaugh has distinguished himself in public service, including work with the homeless.
Justice Sotomayor has repeatedly raised eyebrows with her comments off the bench, including seemingly calling on lawyers and students to join in a political campaign to change abortion laws.
In her favor, Justice Sotomayor has also defended colleagues like Justice Clarence Thomas, explained the reasonable disagreements among the justices, and opposed rationales on the left for packing the court. She is not someone who I view as gratuitously rude or cruel. I believe that she values collegiality and the Court as an institution. However, this was another injudicious moment during public events.
There is a wide chasm between the jurisprudence of these two justices. However, that difference is due to fundamental and principled differences in how courts should approach constitutional and statutory interpretation.
Yet, these comments were a disturbing departure from the tradition of collegiality and civility on the court. It was unfair and unwarranted. Hopefully, Justice Sotomayor will take an upcoming occasion during her speaking tour to withdraw the comment.
That would be the “wise” thing to do.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
It’s always the women.
One thing I know for certain about Justice Kavanaugh – He likes beer. Also he had such a full party schedule through law school that he did not recall the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her.
Dear clever ‘Anon., ‘ I had a Full Party School during some of my Higher Education years, too.. …however.. THIS does not a sexual predator or rapist make.. especially for one coming from the kind of Family background that I or Kavanaugh, with whom I can identify, came from….. Nice try, though, trying to keep that little piece of Derogatry Fake News alive!
It was Kavanaugh’s testimony you are calling Fake. Do you doubt Kavanaugh said that?
It’s a remarkable feat to make 5 logical fallacies in two sentences.
She just said, without saying, she make her decisions based on how she feels about it, rather than the Constitution. That’s how all liberal justices make their decisions.
MAGA elected trump, then they left their brains in the trash bin on the way out of the party.
^ more Trump derangement from the mentally ill ^
. again, Anon. ‘TSDer ‘ you have to dunp your little toddler foot stomping RAGE into tis forum with Comments that have nothing to do with the Professor’s Topic of Discussion, for which the Forum was created. A better use of your time would be to go buy some of Hunter’s Art work so he won’t be $15M in debt.
The most brainless comments here are yours. They have nothing to do with the article.
Wrong
A good part of the country elected Trump and tossed Killima to the curb.
Being a justice ought to carry with it the desire to be partial only to the Constitution. How hard would it be for a justice, when prodded to display personal ideology, to simply say “How about those Red Sox?” or “What nice weather we’re having today!”
Almost. The primary focus of a Judge (Justice) is to be partial to the Law (Congressional Statute). That deference respects Article I of the Constitution, which gives The People through their Congress the power to make new law, and update old law, to fit contemporary circumstances.
As Kavanaugh pointed out during the Apr 1 hearing on Birthright Citizenship, SCOTUS doesn’t attempt to interpret the Constitution if it can settle the case based on interpretation of Statute. It does less to tie the hands of The People moving into an unknown future to cite Statutory Law as determinative.
We’ve waited 60 years to populate the highest Court with Justices, the majority of whom are repelled by Plaintiffs and sympathetic Federal Judges using lawsuits to “legislate from the bench”. We don’t have to worry about activists dictating the law this way now, whereas 60 years ago, activist Supreme Court Justices expected to call the policy shots.
I’ll check on kavs Dobbs vote. If scotus reinforces a wrong decision it just makes matters worse, pb.
What I find so disturbing pb, is if SCOTUS purposely does what Kav suggests knowing Ark is wrong. It’s engaging in unlawful acts or crimes from the bench.
Sotomayor’s comment is outrageous. She’s opinionated , biased beyond an ability to read the law.
She hasn’t a clue as to where she should be offering ‘judgement’. From her ‘wise Latino woman’ description of herself she has failed the test of common sense a class. She is also dead wrong!
This is true of justice’s of lower courts. Members of the Supreme Court is to be partial to the constitution not statutes enacted by Congress.
Good point, jh.
Trump Shares Video Of Woman Hammered To Death
President Trump on Thursday shared graphic footage taken by a security camera in which a man, who the authorities said had come from Haiti, is seen fatally beating a woman in front of a store in Florida.
The president claimed that the attack showed how immigration policies promoted by Democrats, including protections for Haitians, shield criminals.
The program, Temporary Protected Status, was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. It was designed to give temporary refuge to citizens of another country who had left their homes because of some internal crisis, such as a natural disaster or civil war. The protected status can be renewed as long as conditions are considered unsafe for their return. The designation was extended several times for Haitians by other administrations and now shields some 350,000 Haitian immigrants.
From Today’s New York Times
……………………………………….
The article goes on to note that the victim in this story was a Bangladeshi immigrant.
One recalls that during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump kept repeating the lie that Hatian immigrants in Ohio were ‘eating cats and dogs’. And Trump kept repeating that lie even after Ohio’s Republican Governor debunked the rumor.
Trump cares little about the truth and his obsession with deporting non-White immigrants is so obviously racist that only racists defend him. In fact, our science and technology sectors will eventually suffer from Trump-mandated restrictions on immigrants. What’s more, rural areas of the country (red states) are already lacking sufficient doctors which Trump policies are sure to worsen.
Trump Only Permits White South Africans
All but three of the 4,499 refugees let into the United States this fiscal year so far have come from South Africa. This squares with President Donald Trump’s pledge to prioritize Afrikaners from that nation – who are white – while capping refugee entries at a record low.
Halfway through fiscal year 2026, the latest State Department data, published this week, shows that refugee arrivals have already surpassed half of the 7,500 admissions cap.
Late last year, Mr. Trump affirmed that he would prioritize Afrikaner refugees “and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination.” The president appeared to stake a claim in a debate over the persecution versus privilege of white South African farmers. Farm attacks are real in South Africa, but have been exaggerated.
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2026/0407/refugees-trump-south-africa-afrikaners
Did they get a grant for the Afrikaners cultural center? I hope so.
South Africa is literally murdering people for being white
And when it is not killing them it is stealing everything they own
Absolutely the us should be taking immigrants who demonstrated success in $hitholes and are being persecuted
Regardless pf their color
And the us should not be taking in people who made their country into a $hithole regardless of their color
Black farmers in South Africa are angry at that characterization – more Black farmers are being killed than White farmers and for the same reasons – the wide spread of poverty and social collapse – not because of race.
What happened to John Say?
Haiti shares an island with the Dominican Republic
Which is stable and prosperous
The people have the same heritage
But t one nation is a $hithole and the other is well off
Haitians have never needed to come to the US
They need to stay and fix their country
As to doctors
Perhaps you have heard of the laws of supply and demand
Put simply such shortages fix themselves absent government interference
The literal function of a free market is turning scarcity to abundance
Trump leaves slot to be desired as president
But he remains the best president of the 21st century by a long shot
Haiti was saddled with ultimately half a billion dollars in debt to “pay” for the slaves that were freed during their revolution. The US, being chummy with France, fell in line with this economic reprisal. Since Haiti did not have the dollars (francs) the French banks made loans on behalf of Haiti which Haiti finally paid off in the 2022. That is, a solid debt of billions of dollars extracted from Haiti suffocating their economy for nearly 200 years.
“A 2022 analysis by The New York Times reported that the payments cost Haiti much of its development potential. They said that it may have removed between $21 to $115 billion of growth from Haiti over two centuries, according to calculations conducted by fifteen prominent economists. They noted that this number is roughly about one to eight times the nation’s GDP in 2022”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_independence_debt
Imagine if Britain had been able to force the US to pay back for all the land the colonists stole from the Crown and France agreed to help enforce that debt collection.
^ Trump deranged psychiatric patient posting comments from an insane asylum ^
A woman was beat to death with a hammer. She did nothing wrong, but losers like you support the murder.
Are there any non white nations not living in the 3rd world or an emerging nation? Rephrase your comment to read: Trump wants immigrants from developed nations only and you might be correct. Immigration and quotas are highly regulated because of economic problems and other, created by unchecked events, anon.
The only white people left are 90 yo and handicapped. Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance and you can’t miss what you never knew.
Dear Woke ‘Anon,,’ I normally don’t read or reply to stuff that is over-the-top WOKE.. but.. your ‘spin’ & ‘decrees’ are so Absurd, I decided to take the High Road and let you know how Ridiculous they are to help you course-correct so that in the Future.. you will refrain from making a Complete Fool out of yourself.
A man murdered a woman with a hammer. That’s the case. It’s an horrific video as is the Iryna video. Insanity walks the streets.
Shabbat shalom everyone. Have a peaceful sabbath. 🎊🎉🍾🍽️🍲🍷🍞
Shabbat Shalom to you. Love your comments.
U.S. Records Record-Low Fertility
The fertility rate in the United States has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. A new federal study found roughly 700,000 fewer babies were born in the United States last year compared with the peak in 2007.
A growing number of economists and demographers say this is changing the fabric of society in the US. Americans are growing older. Population growth is already slowing dramatically. And until recently – and this is interesting – these changes were masked by immigration. A lot of young people were coming into the U.S. – some legally, some without legal status. Those people joined the workforce. They started families. But now, of course, the Trump administration has dramatically reduced the number of migrants in the U.S.
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/10/nx-s1-5779638/us-fertility-rate-hits-historic-new-low-as-women-delay-pregnancy-and-have-fewer-child
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This story played in several sources today. MAGA Whites fear they’ll be ‘replaced’ by Hispanics. This is an irrational anxiety considering that birthrates have plunged all over the Western world; plus Russia China and Japan.
But Trump’s anti-immigration policies may lead to ‘no replacements’. Instead the U.S. may find itself with an aging population like many other countries. That will lead to a stagnant economy. Though by then, Trump and his MAGA base will all be gone anyway. Most of them are already old and out of touch.
^ Trump Deranged psychiatric patient commenting from a psychiatric hospital ^
Notice how Turley’s MAGA lapdog keeps calling non-MAGA types ‘mentally ill’..?? That’s an old Soviet strategam: ‘Every dissident is mentally ill’.
That might be because being disconnected from reality is mental illness
Dear Anon… ..we have at least one Anon TDS-er in this Forum who acts like a foot stomping toddler with their RAGE.. but your brand of Anon TDS RAGE strikes me as more the smart aleck 6th grader type where you were frozen in your development…
If a man’s duty is to fight his nation’s wars, it is a woman’s duty to make her nation’s men.
If women become their nation’s men, there is no nation.
I doubt it. The babies are unregistered.
Or we could just ban abortion
And force heterosexualality
After all the left is always willing to use force and the most poorly thought out approaches to solve problems
While you are correct that japan china Russia and most of Europe have negative population growth
The consequence of a combination of bad left wing police’s
Better health
Like longer lives
And the fact that prosperous people have smaller families
Of the nations with demographic problems the us has the least problem
Japan has very serious problems but started acting to have a functioning aging society a decade ago
China is facing economic disaster
Russia is not far behind
Much of Europe is only better off when compared to Russia Japan and china
The us has small and easily dealt with problems
So, Sotomayor is a “wise” Latina while Kavanaugh is an elitist because he knows no one who “works by the hour”, Well! I wonder if she realizes that EVERY lawyer in a law firm, including Justice Kavanaugh when he worked for a law firm worked by the hour (actually, many bill their time in 6 minute increments)
I know this is not she was thinking of, but she should clean up her accusations before hurling them at others.
You said it; Sotomayor is a latina.
Kavanaugh is an American.
It’s like the hired hands paid the same wage. Those who’d worked longer complained. The owner said I’ll pay what I decide. (Paraphrase).
You get what you get. Be sure you spend it well. Perhaps God decides before you’re born. Kavanaugh and Sotomayor received the same wage.
^^^ you agreed to the deal.
Be careful when making any deals. It might be a deal with a devil.
Are the lawyers limited to 35 hours a week so they are only part time and don’t get vacation or medical benefits and may have to work evenings or overnight on a rotating schedule so they cannot schedule a second job?
The lawyers aren’t working by the hour; they are billing by the hour regardless of what work they do. Many bill a minimum of 1 hour for any effort for a client and many have been found to be billing more than 24 hours in a day as they juggle multiple clients.
Her audience is Kavanaugh and he knows what she meant.
Stephanie Ruhle actually praised Iran for “the fact that they have a deep belief in something. That’s unfathomable to [Trump]. That they will die for.” Of course, she was not referring to the tens of thousands of protesters executed by the regime for their deep beliefs. J Turley
Limits no longer apply to the depths which woke will go. They not only sound like they are off their rockers, LSD might be the only thing that could bring some semblance of rational thought to them. And some wonder what the explosion in illegal drug use does to the mind. .
Hopefully she will be replaced by President Trump before the end of this next term.
It is astounding how those within America’s judicial system can stray so far from the most basic principles rooted in the U.S. Constitution and the intent of the Founding Fathers. While Congress and the lower courts have a defined role in shaping the system, that authority is too often overshadowed by a judiciary vulnerable to corruption through personal ideology, emotional bias, and blatant political gamesmanship. When decisions are driven by anything other than constitutional fidelity, the system is not merely strained—it is fundamentally compromised, and public trust is rightfully shaken.