Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss., Hearers Of The Word column: Sotomayor's nomination squares with Founding Father's vision

Jul 04, 2009 (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- DJCO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The contentiousness surrounding President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has brought up questions about religion, diversity and the willingness of Americans to give everybody a seat at the table.

The Founding Fathers tried, in their historically conditioned way, to promote diversity within the highest court in the land.

In the early days of the republic, when regional disputes were paramount, nominees were often chosen on the basis of their regional character.

Presidents followed an unofficial policy of holding a New England seat, a Virginia seat, a Pennsylvania seat and a New York seat on the court.

In the 19th century, immigration began changing America. Suddenly, there was more ethnic and religious diversity, and presidents used Supreme Court nominations as a way of recognizing the new arrivals' growing power.

The year 1836 saw the first appointee to what became a century-long tradition of the Catholic seat. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson established the traditional yet unofficial Jewish seat by nominating Louis D. Brandeis.

There are currently two Jewish justices serving on the court.

Eventually, nomination based on religious affiliation ebbed, giving way to the landmark nominations that broke barriers of gender and race. Thurgood Marshall became the first black appointee in 1967, and Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female appointee in 1981.

Despite this effort to promote diversity, 106 of the 110 individuals who have served on the Supreme Court have been white males.

Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. and by 2050 will likely make up one third of the population. History suggests it's time they had a voice on the court.

There is another interesting dimension to Stotomayor's nomination. She would become the sixth Catholic out of nine justices currently serving on the court.

George W. Bush nominated John Roberts and Samuel Alito because they were conservatives, not because they were Catholics, but William Brennan, who was also Catholic, was one of the most liberal and influential voices in the court's history.

Go figure.

It appears that Sotomayor will become another liberal, Catholic justice, proving once again there's more diversity within the church than many would have us think.

It's not offensive to admit that a liberal, Hispanic woman will have a different outlook than a conservative white man. There is a subtle -- at times, pernicious -- distrust of diversity underlying much of the criticism of Sotomayor coming from the far religious right. Some have gone so far as to call her a racist.

In keeping with the vision of the Founding Fathers, Sotomayor stands to bring another level of diversity, a kind of leaven, to the Supreme Court.

Her outlook is clearly different from that of most white, conservative Southerners, but that difference, as difficult as it may be to accept, is part of the genius of American jurisprudence.

Contact Daily Journal religion editor Galen Holley at 678-1510 or galen.holley@djournal.com.

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