As a U.S. Supreme Court justice whose views of late are often heard in dissenting opinions, Sonia Sotomayor is accustomed to fighting for lost causes.

The third woman and first Hispanic person on the court, Sotomayor said lawyers representing civil rights cases, for instance, often lose.

The key, she told a crowd Oct. 20 at the University of Vermont, is to keep trying.

“That’s your job, to be a soldier in a battle that’s only a battle. We lose the war when you walk away,” Sotomayor said in a Q&A session with new UVM President Marlene Tromp.

Sotomayor spoke in front of about 700 people at Ira Allen Chapel, according to UVM. The event came two days after millions of people across the country, including thousands in Vermont, took part in No Kings rallies protesting the policies of President Donald Trump.

“We are in a difficult part of American history, and we have great risk right now of our republic government changing in some fundamental ways,” Sotomayor said.

She said she’s not a Pollyanna and is worried about what’s to come.

“What you shouldn’t do,” Sotomayor said, “is walk away from the fight.”

Nominated by Patrick Leahy, introduced by Peter Welch

In introducing Sotomayor, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., alluded to those same worries the justice would cite. “Norms are being shattered, and we’re wondering about the path forward,” he said.

Former Sen. Patrick Leahy, also a Democrat, couldn’t attend the event, part of the second-annual edition of his namesake public policy forum, presented by UVM’s Patrick Leahy Honors College. Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee when former President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to the court, Leahy spoke to the crowd via video.

“Justice Sotomayor is a tower of legal fortitude and strength,” Leahy said, calling the justice “a stalwart supporter of American democracy.”

Advice for college students with UVM President Marlene Tromp

Most of the conversation between Sotomayor and Tromp was less about specific current events and devoted more generally to words of inspiration geared toward UVM students. Tromp asked Sotomayor to discuss any advice, mentoring or opportunities of special value to her.

“Every time I’ve asked someone for help,” Sotomayor said, “they’ve given it to me.”

“That’s an expression of extraordinary faith in humanity,” Tromp told her.

“By and large, in most people there’s a core of good,” Sotomayor said, even if people should exercise judgment when interacting with others.

A diabetic, Sotomayor spoke of how she began administering insulin injections to herself at age 7, typifying her tendency to take matters into her own hands. She said risk can lead to failure, which doesn’t feel good, but the effort is worth it.

“There’s something about the trying that is so important,” Sotomayor said. “Risk has rewards, and sometimes it has failures, and from those failures you can learn.”

Voice of dissent in ‘gray area’ of law and on a conservative court

Tromp pointed out to Sotomayor that she’s often the voice of dissent on the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.

“What does dissent mean to you, and what should it mean to us?” Tromp asked the justice.

“The problem with law is that everyone wants it to be black and white,” Sotomayor said. “We are announcing a winner and a loser.”

The mistake, she said, is to look at law as an absolute.

“Law is a gray area,” she said. “You don’t need judges if the answers were black and white.”

Her dissents, she said, are sometimes directed toward her colleagues but are also meant to inspire the public, legislators or government agencies to action.

Sotomayor spent much of Oct. 20 speaking with elementary students in Chittenden County and with honors college and political science students at UVM. Tromp said a couple of students told her that Sotomayor’s words inspired them to become Supreme Court justices.

“Come and take over for me,” Sotomayor said. “I really would love that.”

Story Written by Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press

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