It’s not every day that you get to hear from a sitting United States Supreme Court Justice. And it’s even rarer for her to jump into the crowd and take pictures with students. But that’s just what happened on a beautiful winter day at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus.
Yesterday, as part of the MUSE Project, the U welcomed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for a speaking event and tour of campus. The sold-out panel discussion with Sotomayor and Christine M. Durham, the first female justice on the Utah Supreme Court, focused on Sotomayor’s life, legal career and her experience in the Supreme Court.
Sotomayor started by addressing the crowd and saying that her family always called her a “jumping bean” since she could rarely sit still as a kid.
That apparently hasn’t changed. After pacing the stage itself a bit in her own introduction, which included tidbits about the importance of her education and how she had “gone farther than she ever could have dreamed” as a youngster in the Bronx, Sotomayor started walking through the crowd, eventually sitting for photos with the throngs of college, high school and junior high students in attendance.
Sotomayor was flanked by Secret Service agents and gave the crowd warning that the agents could get nervous with her in the crowd, and to please stay seated. The agents didn’t quite know what they were getting into either, apparently.
The more formal part of the presentation began with Durham moderating questions from two Utah students and some that had been written in beforehand. After the first question, Sotomayor answered by explaining the difference between district courts, the court of appeals, and the Supreme Court, peppering in anecdotes from her own time at each level.
The district court is about “trying to do justice for the parties before the court” she explained whereas the Appeals Court dealt with evaluating the justice for the “law” itself. She then delved in a little more detail about how a case gets to the Supreme Court bluntly saying that if a case makes it to the high court it is hard to answer. She began to explore the less tangible and more binary aspects of her job, saying that when a decision is made it makes one person smile and one person upset, which is even more of a burden to get the answer right.
Sotomayor explained her experience as a first generation student and offered advice for others going through their own first-generation experience. “Don’t lose your language and don’t lose your culture,” she warned, “but make sure you master the English language” since “the written word is the most persuasive form of convincing people.”
She continued on encouraging students to “seek mentors, people to help explain and guide you to reach your goals.”
“What makes me want to mentor someone? People who work hard to achieve special things,” she said.
The next question echoed the first, coming from a recent graduate who asked how to handle uncomfortable situations, especially coming from the place of a minority. Sotomayor answered affably and personally. She remembered a time when she was appointed to the Supreme Court and when she went home for the first Christmas after the appointment her family was strangely quiet, especially for a Puerto Rican family, she joked.
She pointed out that everyone experiences the world differently, and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes can be deeply beneficial for them and you. She answered the question by including jokes about other justices and experiences from her work as a lawyer. “We have to understand the world is not you.”
As she answered, she moved freely around the floor and the stage and hugged everyone who asked her a question. The next question addressed the idea of balancing personal values and legal precedence and Sotomayor answered simply – the legal system is to get in trouble and find your way out of trouble. She punctuated the sentiment by encouraging people to vote, saying law is “one of the most organizing instruments in a society…in a society with members who have so many varied interests.”
Then the fun started. Sotomayor, much to the chagrin of those Secret Service agents, ascended the stands to join the middle and high schoolers watching the presentation. The Secret Service agents tried to flank her but were left with little success as the justice climbed over seats to take pictures with scores of screaming preteens and teenagers angling to get a picture with the justice.
As she made her way through the crowd, she answered questions about the importance of the arts in her development, highlighting ballet and sculpture and encouraging students of all ages to read as much as possible. “Language paints pictures in your mind.”
The moderator and the security tried to corral the justice with little success.
“Justice, we need to get to your next event,” the moderator cautioned. “I don’t care, they can wait!” she retorted as she told everyone except the young people they could leave. She finished her now-quite-rowdy talk still moving between the students with a final statement. “Look at the good in people…you’ll find life much more enjoyable.”
You can watch the talk here or check out the live streaming posts from @UUtah and @UBusiness.
