Judging Identity

21 Pages Posted: 18 Jun 2014

See all articles by Carla D. Pratt

Carla D. Pratt

University of Oklahoma College of Law

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

Identity matters when it comes to judging. It is important to have judges with intersecting subordinated identities on our courts because these judges contribute unique perspectives that can be different from judges lacking the lived experience of intersectionality.

With the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court came many questions, including one about whether her identity as a Latina would affect her decision making on the Court. The question is a legitimate one prompted by a statement Justice Sotomayor made in a speech several years prior to her nomination to the Court. In a lecture given at the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in 2001, then-Judge Sotomayor made a comment that suggested that the lived experience of judges is relevant to the process of judicial decision-making.

Suggested Citation

Pratt, Carla D., Judging Identity (2013). Thomas Jefferson Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2455944

Carla D. Pratt (Contact Author)

University of Oklahoma College of Law ( email )

300 Timberdell Road
Norman, OK 73019
United States
405-325-3698 (Phone)
405-325-0389 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://https://law.ou.edu/CPratt

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