Should Sonia Sotomayor Retire

The trailblazing Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by President Obama in 2009, was the first Latina woman to serve on the bench and the first person with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The famed justice has been called “the truth-teller of the Supreme Court” by the New York Times and the “real liberal queen of the court” by Above the Law.

However, in April 2024, The Guardian, a global British news outlet, headlined a story that read, “For the sake of all of us, Sonia Sotomayor needs to retire from the US Supreme Court.”

Journalist Lisa Needham at Public Notice said party officials are right to be concerned, but there’s something unseemly about trying to oust Sotomayor, the most passionate and most progressive member of the bench.

At 70, Sotomayor is not the oldest justice on the Supreme Court; Clarence Thomas is 76, and Samuel Alito is 74, so it’s not her age that has critics ringing the alarm bells.

If Sotomayor did not have T1D, a chronic immune system that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its insulin-producing cells, her proficiency probably wouldn’t be such a hot topic.

In addition to having type 1 diabetes since the age of seven, Sotomayor has reportedly had paramedics come to her home (once!) and has been known to travel with a medic. These incidents raise concerns that if she’s forced to retire for health reasons, President-elect Trump will appoint another conservative judge, widening the rights’ lead on the bench. In a report from The Nation, the two newest Supreme Court appointees, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, rarely side with the liberal minority and often move as a block, meaning two votes versus three votes make little difference.

 Accordingly, some may wonder if there is much difference between the current 6-3 Republican majority on the court and the potential for a 7-2 supermajority. However, if the Democrats ever hope to retake the court in the distant future, one less conservative appointment by Trump is significant.

Supreme Court Stacking

Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life in America, while in many countries (Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan, and the United Kingdom), justices must retire at age 70. Members of the U.S. Judicial Branch of the government are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate with life sentences, allowing them to apply the law with only justice in mind, not electoral or political concerns.

In 2022, Democrats successfully pressured Justice Stephen Breyer to step down to vacate the space for a new progressive justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Comparison to Justice RBG

Democrats are worried about a repeat episode from 2020 when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg developed pancreatic cancer at age 80. She survived two bouts of cancer previously and refused to quit during Obama’s second term. When President Trump came into office, he nominated Amy Coney Barrett as RBG’s replacement eight days after her death at age 87.

What the Future Holds

There is a slim to none chance that President Biden could replace Sotomayor before he leaves office on January 20, 2025.

Others weigh in that a new confirmation from the left is unrealistic. Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said to Politico, “Whoever makes those calls [for Sotomayor’s retirement] can’t count,” Durbin said. “Take a look at the calendar and tell me how in the world you could achieve that without setting aside the budget, and the Defense Authorization Act and all the other things that need to be done. I don’t think it’s a realistic idea.”

Likewise, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told NBC’s Meet the Press, “I don’t think it’s a sensible approach.”  

According to the Wall Street Journal, the main reason to believe Sotomayor will remain in court is that those closest to her say she has no intention of stepping down.

A Liberal Queen

Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an American lawyer best known for becoming the first Latina and third woman justice after Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor.

Born in the Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954, to Puerto Rican parents, Sotomayor earned her undergraduate degree at Princeton and her law degree at Yale Law School. In 2016, she won the prestigious Hispanic Heritage Award in Leadership.

When Sotomayor was diagnosed with T1D in 1963, she said, “The treatment of juvenile diabetes was primitive by today’s standards, and the life expectancy was much shorter.”

She’s also been known to say that living with diabetes taught her self-reliance as she diligently proves that the T1D standard of living is much more prolonged and vigorous than in the past.

This may be why Sotomayor hasn’t let critics or peers try to sway her decision to retire. In fact, she hasn’t even responded to the circulating rumors.

Sotomayor Quote: “I do know one thing about me: I don’t measure myself by others’ expectations or let others define my worth.”  

The National Women’s Hall of Fame cites Sotomayor as a proponent for defendants' rights, calling for criminal justice system reform and dissenting impassionedly on issues of race, gender and ethnic identity during her tenure in the court.

Many say it’s way too late for the Democrats to pass a new justice. Even though President Trump pushed Amy Barrett Coney through in 30 days, the government has too many loose ends to tie up before the end of the year.

Final Thoughts

So, whether this call for Sotomayor to retire is purely for democratic reasons and not discrimination based on her health status, age or sex, her decision to remain must be supported. 

And though Trump gets to make replacement appointments for retiring justices for the next four years, who wants to bet Sotomayor won’t be one of them?