Jurisprudence as folklore

My conservative cousin from New York writes:

Judge Sotomayor claims that a Latina judge can come to a better judgment than a white male because of her life experience. Using her logic wouldn’t a jurist who has been a parent have better insights on matters like abortion, marriage and divorce than a woman like Sotomayor who has never been married or given birth to a child?

I’ll confess to having had that same incorrect thought. However, I quickly realized that Latina wisdom, based on Latina life experience, produces empathy. And that emphathy connects the wise Latina to the world of Latina experiences, enabling her to see and comprehend all.

CORRECTION: Apparently Sotomayor was married for about seven years before “experiencing” a divorce in 1983. She and her ex-husband had no children.

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