Saturday, July 2, 2016

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice



Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice


"it is no secret that people of color are disproportionate victims"
of police searches.

"By legitimizing the conduct that produces this double consciousness,
this case tells everyone,
white and black, guilty and innocent,
that an officer can verify your legal status at any time.

It says that your body is subject to invasion
while courts excuse the violation of your rights.

It implies that you are not a citizen of a democracy
but the subject of a carceral state,
just waiting to be cataloged."

"We must not pretend that the countless people
who are routinely targeted by police
are 'isolated.'

They are the canaries in the coal mine whose deaths,
civil and literal,
warn us that no one can breathe in this atmosphere.

They are the ones who recognize that unlawful police stops
corrode all our civil liberties and threaten all our lives.

Until their voices matter too,
our justice system will continue to be anything but.

I dissent."

  Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice, 2016  




Democracy Now! Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez Report:

Sotomayor "Tells It Like It Is" & Slams Racial Profiling, Illegal Search and Seizure in Scathing Dissent

June 24, 2016
Web Exclusive

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence of a crime can still be used in some cases even if police obtained it illegally. While the 5-3 ruling deals a blow to civil rights in favor of police powers, it is likely to be remembered largely for the powerful dissent penned by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina justice on the court.

AMY GOODMAN: In a ruling that cited Michelle Alexander, James Baldwin and Ta-Nehisi Coates, Judge Sotomayor wrote, quote, "it is no secret that people of color are disproportionate victims" of police searches. She concluded her argument saying, quote, "By legitimizing the conduct that produces this double consciousness, this case tells everyone, white and black, guilty and innocent, that an officer can verify your legal status at any time. It says that your body is subject to invasion while courts excuse the violation of your rights. It implies that you are not a citizen of a democracy but the subject of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged." Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor went on to write, quote, "We must not pretend that the countless people who are routinely targeted by police are 'isolated.' They are the canaries in the coal mine whose deaths, civil and literal, warn us that no one can breathe in this atmosphere. They are the ones who recognize that unlawful police stops corrode all our civil liberties and threaten all our lives. Until their voices matter too, our justice system will continue to be anything but. I dissent." Those are the words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor.