Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issues rare apology for ‘hurtful’ comments about Kavanaugh

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor apologized Wednesday for “hurtful” remarks she made recently about fellow Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s upbringing.“At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate,” Sotomayor said in a statement released by the court. “I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague.”
Sotomayor last week indicated that Kavanaugh’s parents were “professionals and probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour,” after he wrote an opinion last year on the high court’s allowance of the Trump administration to conduct broad immigration sweeps in Southern California. 
Kavanaugh, who was in the majority but wrote a concurring opinion, downplayed the belief that people were having their constitutional rights violated in the raids by targeting areas where illegal migrants are known to gather.
“To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this court’s case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors,” Kavanaugh wrote.
“Importantly,” Kavanaugh continued, “reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status.”
Sotomayor’s comment was surprising because the justices have long claimed they get along despite differing opinions.
“I joined the court that dealt with differences as friends, as we respected each other. … That’s civility,” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, said Wednesday. “I don’t know how you bring it back in the current environment with social media and name calling and all and people accusing each other of various things and animus.”
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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