Expect to see a lot less discussion of Sotomayor’s two abortion-related decisions than interpretation of this quote, said in an ambiguously humorous context:
All of the legal defense funds out there, they’re looking for people with Court of Appeals experience. Because it is – Court of Appeals is where policy is made. And I know, and I know, that this is on tape, and I should never say that. Because we don’t ‘make law,’ I know. Okay, I know. I know. I’m not promoting it, and I’m not advocating it. I’m, you know. Having said that, the Court of Appeals is where, before the Supreme Court makes the final decision, the law is percolating. Its interpretation, its application.
Indeed, Americans United for Life‘s first press release on Sotomayor says nothing about Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush or Amnesty America v. West Hartford. Instead, the group says:
For all the President’s talk of finding “common ground,’ this appointment completely contradicts that hollow promise. Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy undermines common ground. She is a radical pick that divides America. She believes the role of the Court is to set policy which is exactly the philosophy that led to the Supreme Court turning into the ‘National Abortion Control Board,’ denying the American people to right to be heard on this critical issue. This appointment would provide a pedestal for an avowed judicial activist to impose her personal policy and beliefs onto others from the bench, at a time when the Courts are at a crossroad and critical abortion regulations — supported by the vast majority of Americans — like partial-birth abortion and informed consent laws lie in the balance.
