Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor sang praises about the longest-serving justice on the high court, Clarence Thomas, on Thursday, saying he “cares about people” while contending they clash on jurisprudence.
Sotomayor, one of the court’s three liberal members and an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said at Chicago’s Roosevelt University that while she’s had numerous clashes with her conservative colleagues, including Thomas, “I look for the things that they do that are good.”
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But “I have disagreed more with him than with any other justice,” Sotomayor added during a talk that was moderated by retired Judge Ann Claire Williams, who previously sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
SOTOMAYOR: SUPREME COURT CAN ‘REGAIN THE PUBLIC’S CONFIDENCE’
The liberal justice was asked Thursday night how she maintains relationships with justices she often disagrees with. Both Sotomayor and Thomas sit next to each other on the high court and have a history of noted respect toward one another despite their ideological differences.
“Clarence, who grew up very poor, believes that everyone is capable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. I believe not everyone can reach their bootstraps,” Sotomayor said Thursday, echoing a similar sentiment she said about her high court colleague during a June event in Washington, D.C.
Sotomayor’s perception of Thomas contrasts greatly with another Obama appointee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called Thomas a person of “resentment, grievance, anger” this summer following the high court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But the 6-3 conservative majority’s decision on abortion hasn’t soured Sotomayor’s view of her neighbor at the court, noting Thursday that “I always try to find the good in everybody.”
During the June event, Sotomayor said that Thomas, who has been a justice since 1991, is keen about remembering every high court employee’s name.
“And not only does he know their names, he remembers their families’ names and histories,” she added.
While Sotomayor fretted over the court’s legitimacy after overturning Roe, indicating her awareness of declining public confidence in the court, she expressed optimism Thursday after someone asked her what she would tell someone who feels disenfranchised.
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“I ask people, ‘What choice do we have but to keep trying to change things?’ Because if you feel disenfranchised and let other people fight for what they think is right and you’re not willing to get up and fight, then you are just giving it to them,” Sotomayor said.
Sotomayor, the first Latina nominated to the high court, also received the Eleanor Roosevelt Social Justice Award at the Thursday night event.