In an event on April 7 at the University of Kansas Law School, Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an apology for her recent comments directed at Justice Brett Kavanaugh. This follows criticism she made regarding Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion in the Supreme Court case Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, where the court decided to remove certain restrictions on immigration stops, a move some argue facilitates racial profiling.
Sotomayor, without naming Kavanaugh, insinuated during her speech that her colleague didn’t grasp the real-world impact of such stops, possibly due to his privileged upbringing, noting that the author of the opinion likely lived a “sheltered” life.
Justice Sotomayor’s statements were met with surprise as personal critiques of fellow justices are rare within the Supreme Court. She later described her comments as “inappropriate” in a public statement issued by the court’s Public Information Office. In this statement, Sotomayor expressed regret and confirmed she had apologized to Justice Kavanaugh.
The timing of this apology is notable as the justices are scheduled to resume oral arguments by April 20. Sotomayor’s original remarks, as well as her subsequent retraction, shed light on the challenges of navigating personal and professional dynamics within the highest court. For deeper insights into this development, the incident has been detailed further by Bloomberg Law. Additionally, the full apology from Justice Sotomayor is documented on SCOTUSblog.