As the Supreme Court prepares to issue some highly-anticipated rulings next month, Justice Sonia Sotomayor took time to share some advice with local students and professionals at the New York State Bar Association in Albany.
Sotomayor virtually joined a civics discussion Thursday to answer questions about her time on the bench. Nominated by President Obama in 2009, Sotomayor commented on the balance of the current conservative-leaning body.
She said changes within the federal court system take time, often making it feel like a static institution.
“Traditions and commitment to the institution helps remind each justice that the court is not about them. The court is about the court, about its history, and its traditions. It's something greater than the individual,” Sotomayor said.
Ella O’Brien, a senior at Bethlehem High School, will be attending Salve Regina University in Rhode Island in the fall. She asked the justice about her experience as a woman in the courts. O’Brien says she hopes to follow in Sotomayor’s footsteps.
“It really makes me so excited more than anything, it makes me so excited to kind of take off on that journey more than anything,” O’Brien said. “And I am happy to say that it does not scare me away. And even I know, I know every job comes with negatives, and every field you can go into will come with hard things that you have to face. But more than anything, it's excitement.”
The justice also fielded questions about how the profession has changed during her tenure and what roles young people can play in civic discourse.
O’Brien says the event made her realize the importance of making your voice heard.
“I've seen people make a difference and that's how it's happened in the past before and it's going to happen again, history repeats itself and I would love to be a part of it,” O’Brien said.
Sotomayor says she has been the only woman in the room for most of her career. Her advice for O’Brien was:
“You have to handle it situationally,” Sotomayor said. “You have to figure out when you need to take a stand and say something. And then you have to figure out what to say and how to say and use your judgment in trying to assume the best of people when you can, but to communicate it in ways that may feel less hurtful and more educational.”
Sotomayor also warned of the impact artificial intelligence could have on the field of law and how people engage with each other online and in person. Sotomayor says she is shocked by how swiftly technologies have changed.
“It's going to take over jobs in so many professions,” Sotomayor said. “It may not take over lawyering completely, but it is going to change a lot of the ways of how we lawyer. And that's going to be an area, and I don't care if it's in design, or in lawyering, AI is going to change things dramatically.”
According to the Bar Association, Sotomayor is a board member of iCivics, a non-profit education organization. Her talk came as part of a civics convocation focused on a growing lack of understanding about government and how it works among young Americans.
Before disconnecting, Sotomayor’s last piece of advice for the students was to worry less about the future.
“In the end make a decision that you are going to commit to that decision,” Sotomayor said. “And make the best of wherever you go and whatever you choose to do. No place is ever, no school, no individual school is ever going to make or break you. You make or break yourself. So consider your choices, commit, and then make the most of what you’re doing.”