Sotomayor: "Wise Latina" Was A Flourish That "Fell Flat"

During day 2 of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, federal judge Sonia Sotomayor discussed her much-talked about 2001 remarks where she said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.” Today, Politico reports that Sotomayor "publicly backed off the remarks... During the first day of direct exchanges between senators and the nominee at her confirmation hearings, Sotomayor said her statements were only intended to inspire women and Latinos pursuing careers in the law and were not meant to suggest they would make better judges than others." Sotomayor added that they were a "rhetorical flourish that fell flat... It left an impression that life experience commanded a result in a case but that’s clearly not what I do as a judge,” and said it was an unsuccessful play on former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's statement ("I can't see that on the issues that we address at the court that a wise old woman is going to decide a case differently than a wise old man").