May 26, 2009
Contact:
EARTHJUSTICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009
Contact: Raviya Ismail, Earthjustice (202)
667-4500
Earthjustice Statement on
Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court Nomination
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Justice will play crucial role in nation's highest court
“Earthjustice welcomes President Obama’s Supreme Court
nomination of Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who has some of the strongest qualifications of
any Supreme Court nominee in many years, including the most federal judicial
experience in 100 years.
“Judge Sotomayor is well qualified in light of her personal,
academic, legal, and judicial experience . Her
knowledge, understanding and service as a federal trial and appellate court
judge provide invaluable perspectives for deciding environmental protection and
related issues, as reflected in her 80-page Riverkeeper
v. EPA opinion.
“Filling the current
Supreme Court vacancy with a jurist who is fair-minded and experienced is critical. Polluters have attempted to rewrite the
constitution and laws to repeal clean air, clean water and other essential
safeguards. Four of the remaining Justices unjustifiably attempted to block the
Clean Air Act’s application to global warming pollution, and to
reinterpret the Constitution to selectively prohibit citizen and state access
to court in the 2007
“We look forward to
the Senate’s deliberations on this important nomination as the Court is
sharply and closely divided on the fate of basic environmental safeguards and
citizens’ access to court. Respect for and understanding
of environmental laws that protect all Americans are essential.”