Judicial Watch Raises Ethics Concerns about Judge Sotomayor Prejudicial Statements, Discriminatory Affiliation and Improper Political Activities

/Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it sent a letter of complaint on July 7 to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) expressing concern that Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor has repeatedly violated the Judicial Code of Conduct through her statements and behavior and
is therefore unfit to serve on the High Court.

According to the letter signed by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:

"I write to you out of concern that out-of-court statements and activity by Judge Sonia Sotomayor violate various provisions of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges ("Code of Conduct"). In fact, Judge Sotomayor may be in violation of the Code of Conduct as a result of the following:

· Repeated prejudicial and racist comments.

· Recent membership in an organization that
practices "invidious discrimination" based on sex.

· Improper political activity.

The Judicial Code of Conduct notes that the duty to "act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary applies to all the judge's activities, including the discharge of the judge's adjudicative and administrative responsibilities. The duty to be respectful includes the responsibility to avoid comment or behavior that could reasonably be interpreted as harassment, prejudice or bias."

Judge Sotomayor's statements and activities, Judicial Watch contends, have repeatedly violated this and other canons of the Code of Conduct. Among the evidence presented by Judicial Watch to support its contention:

Sotomayor's Prejudiced and Racist Comments: During an October 2001 speech at the University of California Berkeley, Sotomayor said the following: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Judge Sotomayor has also promoted the idea that "gender and national origins" of judges "may and will make a difference in our judging."

Sotomayor's Membership in an Organization That Practices "Invidious Discrimination" Based on Sex: According to Canon 2 (c) of the Judicial Code of Conduct: "A judge should not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin." Judge Sotomayor recently resigned her membership from the Belizean Grove, a private organization consisting entirely of professional women that claims
to represent the counterweight to the "elite old boys' network." In her recent Senate questionnaire Judge Sotomayor wrote the following with respect to her organizational affiliations: "None of the above organizations, other than the Belizean Grove, discriminates on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin." Judge Sotomayor stated that the group does not "invidiously" discriminate but the evidence seems otherwise.

Sotomayor's Improper Political Activity: On April 17, 2009, Judge Sotomayor made a political speech to the Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American Law Alumni Association. Among the statements made by Judge Sotomayor during that speech: "The wide coalition of groups that joined forces to elect America's first Afro-American President was awe inspiring in both the
passion the members of the coalition exhibited in their efforts and the discipline they showed in the execution of their goals... Our challenge as lawyers and court related professionals and staff, as citizens of the world is to keep the spirit of the common joy we shared on November 4 alive in our everyday existence."

Canon 5 of the Code of Conduct plainly states that "A judge should refrain from political activity," and that a judge should not "publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for public office."

"Judge Sotomayor seems to be in violation of the ethical guidelines that governs the conduct of judges. Frankly, this apparent misconduct ought to give the Judiciary Committee and the full Senate further reason to reject her nomination for the High Court," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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Georgia Legislature Blasts O'Hare Modernization Program as Wasteful Project

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A resolution has been introduced in the Georgia Legislature calling Chicago's O'Hare Modernization Program, or OMP, a "Runway to Nowhere" and describing the project as "ill-conceived and premature." House Resolution 535 was introduced by Representative Joe Wilkinson, Chairman of the House Ethics Committee. It calls on Georgia Congressional delegation to stop all wasteful federal spending in relation to President Obama's recently approved stimulus package. The cost of OMP, which would add a third terminal to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, is currently estimated at approximately $20 billion.

"President Obama was right to warn the nation's mayors that he would call them out for spending federal tax dollars on pork. He should start with his hometown mayor," said Representative Wilkinson. "Here is a public works project that's riddled with allegations of corruption. As an extension of the Rod Blagojevich investigation, crony contractors are being charged with fraudulent bid-rigging schemes, and Chicago's mayor wants upwards of $20 billion from the American taxpayers to pay for it? If that's not pork, I don't know what is."

No one in Illinois is publicly acknowledging where the stimulus funds for the state will be used but there has been speculation that a significant portion will be used for the O'Hare Modernization Program. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has yet to reveal how and where he would like stimulus funds to be used. Given that the state of Illinois will not invest in the project, and the city of Chicago does not have the resources, it's likely the mayor will go around state government and take his case directly to Washington.

"Why should the people of Georgia and the rest of the nation cough up $20 billion to build an airport in Chicago, when their own state won't even pay for it?" continued Wilkinson. "Compare Chicago's project to Atlanta's request of $500 million for the new Hartsfield-Jackson international terminal. Atlanta and Chicago have virtually identical airports with identical traffic volume, yet Chicago's terminal will cost more than $19 billion more the proposed Atlanta project, and the airlines have affirmed that it will do very little to alleviate flight delays. The American people were right to stand up against the 'bridge to nowhere,' and it's time to do the same with the 'runway to nowhere.'"

Work on the next phase of the O'Hare expansion has not begun and funding for the $20 billion Program has not been secured. FAA studies show that the expansion will not provide any significant improvement of airline delays or alleviate congestion at O'Hare. Aviation experts say that OMP will instead produce massive delays and increase costs for both consumers and airlines during and after initial construction. In addition, the airlines, including United Airlines and American Airlines, have also called the OMP plan "ill-conceived" and "premature."

www.stop-omp.org is dedicated to stopping the senseless, ill advised and flawed O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP) and preventing further unnecessary displacement of families and the wasting of taxpayer dollars. Community leaders, concerned citizens, aviation industry leaders and economic experts continue to urge the FAA to adopt viable alternatives. These include runway configurations proposed by the Chicago air traffic controllers, use of congestion management techniques, reliance on other nearby airports, and construction of a third airport.

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