Questions for Sotomayor on Foreign Law

Conn Carroll / July 07, 2009

In April 2009, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor delivered a speech to the Puerto Rican chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she made it clear that the Court’s citation of foreign and international law was proper, and indeed laudable.  Sotomayor has not yet cited international law in any of her own written opinions, so in light of her speech to the ACLU of Puerto Rico, Senators must press her regarding her view on the subject. Heritage fellow Steve Groves identifies some lines of questioning including:

• In your speech to the ACLU of Puerto Rico, you expressed your fear that the U.S. Supreme Court may “lose influence in the world” if it was not more open to discussing the ideas raised by foreign and international courts. Do you believe that it is the proper role of a justice of the Supreme Court to decide cases based on whether the decision will influence the jurisprudence of foreign courts? If so, how great a factor should the desire to influence foreign courts play in interpreting the Constitution?

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