RACE

Judge Sonia Sotomayor Slams Texas Prosecutor for Racism

'I hope never to see a case like this again'

Feb 25, 2013 by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: AP

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is in the limelight today for condemning the racist comment made by a state prosecutor while cross-examining a black defendant.

Defendant Charles Calhoun claimed he'd not known about his friend's cocaine purchase during a road trip. United States Attorney Sam L. Ponder wasn't buying that, however, and suggested that Calhoun, himself an African-American, should have guessed drugs were being purchased based on his friend's race:

You've got African-Americans, you've got Hispanics, you've got a bag full of money. Does that tell you - a light bulb doesn't go off in your head and say, this is a drug deal?

Calhoun appealed on the grounds that the prosecutor "violated his constitutional rights by the question," Yahoo reports. He took his appeal as far as the Supreme Court, who dismissed the case on procedural grounds, but also issued a statement calling out the prosecutor's remark.

Sotomayor wrote to "dispel any doubt" whether the Court's dismissal of the case "should be understood to signal our tolerance of a federal prosecutor's racially charged remark."

It is deeply disappointing to see a representative of the United States resort to this basic tactic more than a decade into the 21st century...We expect the government to seek justice, not fan the flames of fear and prejudice.

She added, "I hope never to see a case like this again."

Via Yahoo.

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?	Are you disappointed, like Sotomayor, to learn of the prosecutor's racially-charged remark?

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Yes, it's dismaying

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Meh, it probably happens all the time

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No, the remark wasn't truly racist

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Comments (view in Forum)

Feb '13

harold_lloyd

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Especially from a federal attorney.
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Feb '13

Zazziness

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"You've got old white guys in suits, you've got a fancy restaurant; surely common sense would have told you stock fraud must be going on..."
Nope. False stereotyping based on race. And so was the original prosecutor's question.
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Feb '13

Fishbone345

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Oh I don't know, I was buying that. You can bet than Enron board rooms aren't the only ones it happened in, they were just the only ones caught when the money went away.
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Feb '13

Zazziness

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@Fishbone345 Don't fall for it. The only thing you can tell by a person's skin color is how easily they sunburn.
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Feb '13

drpeeper

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@Zazziness May wanna tell Sonia that. 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."
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Post @drpeeper
Feb '13

Fishbone345

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@Zazziness No, rich white guys were responsible for Enron, rich white guys were responsible for the collapse of the economy due directly to the banking insurance scams. It's not racist to say it, it's fact.
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Feb '13

Yank

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The truth is not racist. His problem was that he mentioned the blacks with the bag of money. Anyone with a bag of money + Latinos (in TX, AZ, NM, or CA) = drugs. Kind of like, here in MN, white people + trailor park + lots of cars coming and going = meth.
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Feb '13

Malitia_Man

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Who cares!!!! Why don't we stop with the distractions of racial division, and focus on what needs to be focused on!!!
- B4 • Vote Up r7 Replies
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Feb '13

Malitia_Man

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Come on children... Go stand in the corner Johnny, you offended little Susie... Wah wah wah!!!
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Feb '13

drpeeper

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Amen. Does anyone remember this woman was a member of La Raza?? Hello...... Talk about the pot and the kettle..........
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Feb '13

Zazziness

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The guy who was in court being prosecuted cared a lot about it -- as well he should have.
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Feb '13

dances-weebles

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what needs to be focused on more than social injustice, and inequity?
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Feb '13

dances-weebles

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@dances-weebles and i care.
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Feb '13

zachsquatch

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The prosecutor was out of line, but our country supports racism- Equal Opportunity, Minority Quotas, etc etc etc. It's not a good practice to put quantity over quality...and not I am not saying that white people are better at anything before someone starts to boo-hoo.
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Feb '13

Sonny

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It is hard to believe that an officer of the court would behave in that way...And believe it or not, we have had at least 2 judges who were disciplined by our State Supreme Court for similar kinds of remarks...One was forced to retire. Like I have said before...political figures and public officials need to take extra care to not be seen as potentially biased or even the appearance thereof, in anyway. Just as the Assemblyman in New York used poor judgement wearing his "black face" ---so did this prosecutor in Texas...
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Feb '13

PNWest

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You would have thought that electing a black President would have meant a step forward in race relations in this country but in a lot of ways we have moved backwards. The Tea Party type conservatives have no shame about their racism. They see nothing wrong with the prosecutor here nor with the NY assemblyman in black face. To them this type of obvious racism is just fine. This kind of racism hasn't been seen in polite company since the civil rights days of the early 1960s. Fortunately this type of bigotry is on the way out. You don't see much of this at all from young people just the from the angry old white guys that Lindsay Graham truthfully said that the GOP wasn't generating enough of. I hope this the last gasp of an ugly period of American history. I think it is.
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Feb '13

tomincali

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@PNWest you mean like giving a la raza member a job such as was given to sotomayor.talk about racist.funny again how thats ok with some.
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Feb '13

PoliticalSpice

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@PolitixMary Why not an option I am disappointed the court didn't through out the conviction on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct?
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Feb '13

PNWest

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@tomincali Funny how some right wingnuts think that a civil rights advocacy group like La Raza is somehow racist. I guess they read it on WorldNutDaily so they assume that it is true. Actually it's not funny, it's sad that such racism still exists in 2013.
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Feb '13

tomincali

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@PNWest all race based groups out to better their own race is what it is, the only thing is the bigots who belong and support these things do not see it like that,and sometime others are even robed by tax dollars supporting these hate groups.

no different than the kkk other than gov supports them.
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Feb '13

Heavy-Fed

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Great, Sonia Sotomayor knows a racist when she sees one... because she IS one!! Ask her about her support of La Raza!!! Quite literally La Raza translate as "The Race"... a group of Hispanics whose goal in the Reconquista of the Southern United States for Mexico!!! Ask her about her membership in THAT group!!!!
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Feb '13

drpeeper

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Correct. BUT. Remember, from 2008-2016, you can't question authority or speak truth to power. Something liberals LOVE to claim.
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Feb '13

Heavy-Fed

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@drpeeper I think I must have been just about the last gradeschooler who was taught to question everything... before the "Just say no" comply with authority generation began... and it's been downhill from there. HeavyFedDotCom
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Feb '13

drpeeper

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"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."

Gee who said that ?:)
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Post @drpeeper
Feb '13

Heavy-Fed

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@drpeeper Some RACIST I am sure.

LOL
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Feb '13

bsking

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Absolutely correct . good post.
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Feb '13

Sabio

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it actually made a lot of sense, car full of minorities and a bag full of undisclosed amount of cash, cmon now!!!!! a decade in this century and you don't see this for what it is judgey?!?!?!?!?!
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Feb '13

Heavy-Fed

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And to dismiss the case based on those remarks by the prosecutor is a SERIOUS miscarriage of justice!
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Feb '13

JimCO55

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Really, is that how justice works, proof or evidence is not important, that you only have to look at the color of their skin? I'm guessing had this been written 150 years about an Irishman and booze ... that's all the proof you woulda needed?

The Irish were seen as lesser people by Americans and especially British. For example, in the late 19th century in the north of America, it was easier for a black man to get a job than an Irishmen. There was an extreme amount of racism directed in their direction which brought on negative stereotypes to justify the racism. There were the typical "lazy" and "stupid" stereotypes, but also the "drunken" stereotype. This stereotype was constantly embellished in order to justify British and American "superiority" so that they could continue to treat the Irish as second class citizens.
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Feb '13

Sabio

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@JimCO55 i dont know, car full of drugs and money, who cares what the color is IT IS ILLEGAL!
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Feb '13

JimCO55

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@Sabio : Actually it was in a motel room with the SC rejected hearing his appeal, agreeing with the lower court that it wasn't this statement that caused the jury to find the defendant guilty. But that still doesn't excuse the prosecutor's statement to the jury as if being African-American is all the proof you would need to find the defendent guilty of the charges!
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Feb '13

Sabio

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@JimCO55 no, but it is correct most of the time, so if the shoe fits.........
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Feb '13

SAS86

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Political Correctness prohibiting profiling has just about ruined this country and will continue to do so. Truthful, verified, logical statements and questions need to be asked and answered. Like it or not, there really are different races, and they are identifiable. To ignore the differences is just as racist as pointing out the differences. You can't ignore the elephant in the room just for the sake of being PC.
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Feb '13

Jet_Silverman

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You must be really upset you have a black president. I smile at your anguish. :)
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Feb '13

SAS86

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@Jet_Silverman I don't mind a black president, I mind a socialist/communist.
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Feb '13

Jet_Silverman

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@SAS86 you don't even know what those terms mean.
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Feb '13
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Feb '13

Sabio

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so were just gonna let all these brothas go for calling it as they see it? what a joke you libs have made of the SOTUS!
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Feb '13

marine1

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I don't care for her but she is right.
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Feb '13

zachsquatch

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According to the PC mindset, only white people can be racist.
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Feb '13

dances-weebles

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@PoliticsMary, once again there are not enough choices to vote on.
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Feb '13

Sabio

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"never mind all the drugs, the weapons, the underage prostitutes, you just targeted him for his race so therefore you must dismiss the case", what a crock of you know what!
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Feb '13

zachsquatch

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Did she really say "I hope I never to see a case like this again"?
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Feb '13

JoeBidumb

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I'm not surprised that a Federal prosecutor asked an asinine question. The vast majority of those in government are worthless imbeciles. They are not fools, for those are the voters that elect the imbeciles or those that appoint the imbeciles.

BTW, to remove all doubt, I am very conservative.
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Feb '13

2b1ask1

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No more racist than the judge is.....Clearly!
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Feb '13

MadAmerican

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Probobly in those neck of the woods this was clearly a "see me, f**k me, arrest me" act of defiance. Look-it's often common that law enforcement can identify drug dealers and users by the company they keep. How much more do we take away from the police in protecting us and our children. I do not care if they profile-that's what they have to do to get the job done. If you are a drug pusher or criminal and do not want to get profiled then get the hell out of the US, and take this liberal loving judge with you.
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Feb '13

g4me

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More ugliness from the usual suspects on display here. Some days I really despair for mankind.
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Feb '13

Vance1

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'I hope never to see a face like Sonia Sotomayor again'
My Gosh is she ever an ugly woman...why are all liberal democrat women so very rude and ugly!
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Feb '13

gemstone

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Sotomayor is/was a member of La Raza, one the THE most racist groups ever!
Why does the media not report that?
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Feb '13

tomincali

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sad isn't it? darn shame when we allow folks like that to slither into high places.
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Feb '13

earl

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She will pretend the Second Amendment doesn't exist when that case reaches the Supreme Court.
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Politix

Are you disappointed, like Sotomayor, to learn of the prosecutor's racially-charged remark?

Are you disappointed, like Sotomayor, to learn of the prosecutor's racially-charged remark?