Sotomayor nomination is wrong direction

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 17, 2009 | by Anonymous

Much ado has been made about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's comment expressing pride in her race and gender while denigrating white males.

However, I am far more concerned with her support of decisions that denied promotions to qualified firefighters because of their race and gender and that lowered standards to accommodate unqualified people who could not meet those standards.

If I were in a burning building, the last thing on my mind would be the race, gender, etc., of the firefighter rescuing me. But if a firefighter was not able to carry me out of that building, the fear of imminent death just might overcome my joy that the fire department had met its diversity goals.

Firefighters, police and others in hazardous occupations say they must function as a team, based on their qualifications and abilities. Their lives -- and ours -- depend on it.

Appointing any judge who indicates that he or she would render legal opinions and thereby create case law based on personal experiences and preferences and not on impartiality and equality under the law would be unconstitutional, dangerous and a disgrace to the concept of justice.

Jeff Morris

Brentwood