Chuck Schumer: Sotomayor is "within the judicial mainstream" on immigration cases; how far off is he?

From this:

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, assigned his staff to analyze how (Sonia Sotomayor) voted in 955 immigration cases in which she has participated throughout her judicial career, with a special focus on cases that involved foreigners trying to win asylum claims in order to remain in the United States.

Of the 848 asylum cases in which Sotomayor has taken part, Schumer’s aides say, she sided with the foreigner over the government in 144 of them, or 17 percent of the time. That percentage, the aides point out, is virtually identical to that of the entire 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, of which she is a member, during a two-year window analyzed as part of a recent article published in the Stanford Law Review by law professors at Temple and Georgetown universities.

Their rulings were unanimous in all but three of the asylum cases. In response to his study, Chuck Shumer says:

"These findings should put to rest any doubts about Judge Sotomayor’s fidelity to the rule of law. Even in immigration cases, which would most test the so-called ‘empathy factor,’ Judge Sotomayor’s record is well within the judicial mainstream."

It would, of course, be helpful if someone could check his work, such as by pulling out a few contentious cases and looking at how she handled them.

Mon, 06/08/2009 - 20:52 · · Importance: 4