Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Tuesday at her book talk that although she often disagrees with Justice Clarence Thomas‘ opinions on the bench, “I know that he is voting in good faith for what he believes,” WHYY reported.
She quipped, “I know his beliefs are wrong because I write about them.”
Why It Matters
Sotomayor and Thomas agreed on 57 percent of cases in the 2024 term, according to statistics by SCOTUSblog. The only justice who agreed with Thomas with less frequency was liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, with the two aligning on 54 percent of cases.
Despite the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority, the justices ruled unanimously in 42 percent of cases decided last term. In 2023, they ruled unanimously in 44 percent of cases and 50 percent in 2022.
Sotomayor has been speaking at universities and libraries across the country in promotion of her new children’s book, Just Shine! How to Be a Better You.
What To Know
In a Tuesday book talk, Sotomayor touched on her mother’s legacy and teachings and how they have impacted her relationships on the bench, where she’s been since 2009
“We are a family,” Sotomayor said about all the justices, including those she does not share the same legal viewpoint as. She emphasized that she looks “first at the good in people.”
“Thomas knows the name of practically every employee in the building. And not infrequently, we’re walking out of a conference or the dining room and he’ll say, ‘Did you know somebody in the building has lost a parent, a sick son?’ Something about them personally. He cares deeply about people,” Sotomayor said.
AP Photo/Richard Drew
She added, “I know that he is voting in good faith for what he believes. I know his beliefs are wrong because I write about them.”
The justice continued, “I get a chance to say it, but once I say it, I can walk away. I let it go, and that’s the forgiveness my mother taught me.”
Earlier this month, she said that Thomas was the first to send flowers after her stepfather’s death.
What People Are Saying
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library earlier this month: “A democracy requires compromise. We can’t govern ourselves if we’re not willing to compromise and meet in the middle. Moreover, you know, we’re all in this together, and if we have a winner takes all approach, where you just want to crush the enemy, if you regard people who disagree with you as the enemy, we can’t constructively move forward as a society.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, at Washington University in St. Louis earlier this month: “I go into my rooms, especially the one I work at, and I listen to people I disagree with … I remind myself constantly of my mother saying there’s good in every person, in every person with whom I disagree.”
What Happens Next
The Supreme Court’s term will begin on October 6. It will hear challenges to President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on November 5.
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