Judge needs impartiality

Regarding Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and her controversial statement that being a Latina and "living that life" — presumably seeing or experiencing discrimination up close and personal — is likely to lead to a "wiser" decision in gender and race discrimination cases: Such a philosophy flies in the face of our judicial system's common approach to jurors' suitability to hear evidence and render verdicts. For instance, a rape victim would be excused from a pool of prospective jurors in a rape trial because it's presumed she would be more empathetic to the victim, preventing a fair and balanced trial. If that applies to a lowly juror, how much more so to a Supreme Court justice who, unlike a trial court judge, acts as both judge and jury.

Greg Rampton

American Fork