Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Tuesday that she often finds her conservative colleagues frustrating but tries to focus on their positive traits, and she warned that recent conservative rulings could carry long-term consequences for rights and governance.
Sotomayor made the remarks during appearances on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and on ABC’s "The View," where she was also promoting her new children’s book, "Just Shine! How to Be a Better You." She said lessons from her mother guide her efforts to maintain collegiality with justices whose views often diverge from her own.
"She taught me to look for the best in people," Sotomayor said on Colbert’s program. "That was the lesson that moment gave me, and it’s one I look for in my colleagues." She acknowledged deep differences with the court’s conservative majority, saying, "I don’t agree with them much. At least not with the majority. And they can be really frustrating. And there are moments when I want to scurry out of the room. But I don’t. And what I look for to maintain our collegiality is the good in them."
On "The View," Sotomayor discussed the practical implications of the court’s recent decisions, including the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and other rulings by the court’s 6-3 conservative majority. When asked what ordinary Americans should take from those rulings, she said the long-term effects extend beyond the immediate parties and could shape the conduct of leaders in the future.
"The price we pay is whatever is happening today, as I indicated, is going to affect a lot of people. But it affects your future. It affects the conduct of leaders in the future, because what we permit today is not going to be duplicated exactly tomorrow. It’s going to be something different," Sotomayor said. She added that changing precedent alters "the contours of a right that people thought they had" and warned that each change raises further risks for groups whose protections might be eroded.
Sotomayor, nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2009, is one of three current justices on the court who were nominated by a Democratic president. The court’s conservative majority has issued a string of high-profile rulings in recent years that have reshaped federal law on abortion, administrative power and other controversial areas.
At public events and in published opinions, Sotomayor has frequently voiced concern about how shifts in precedent can affect people’s expectations of legal rights and the stability of legal protections. Her television appearances come as the court prepares for another term with cases that could have broad policy implications.
Sotomayor’s comments reflect both personal and institutional dimensions of life on the court: the need to maintain professional working relationships among justices with starkly different judicial philosophies, and the broader civic consequences when the court alters settled precedent.
Legal scholars and advocates on both sides of the ideological spectrum have emphasized the lasting impact of Supreme Court decisions. Supporters of recent conservative rulings argue the court is restoring originalist readings of the Constitution, while critics, including Sotomayor, contend that rollbacks and changes in precedent can leave vulnerable populations exposed and create uncertainty in the law.
Sotomayor’s remarks underscore ongoing tensions at the highest court as it navigates politically charged cases and the justices balance personal relationships, institutional duties and the lasting effects of their decisions on American law and society.