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Sotomayor says she felt 'sense of despair'…

U.S. Supreme Court Sotomayor says she felt 'sense of despair' in previous SCOTUS term

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 5, 2023, 12:33 pm CST

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in October 2022. Sotomayor recently said falling into despair is “not an option,” and she will continue to “keep fighting.” Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a video appearance Wednesday she felt a “sense of despair” because of the direction taken by the U.S. Supreme Court in the previous term.

Speaking to law professors at the Association of American Law Schools, the liberal Sotomayor said falling into despair is “not an option,” and she will continue to “keep fighting,” Reuters reports.

Sotomayor was questioned by 2022 AALS President Erwin Chemerinsky, an ABA Journal contributor who is the dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

Chemerinsky said he had never seen his law students so discouraged, according to Reuters.

Sotomayor responded that there is value in fighting for people who have been wronged, even when unsuccessful.

The article noted that the Supreme Court issued a ruling overturning the right to abortion in the last term. Sotomayor did not refer to the ruling by its name, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and she did not discuss the advance leak of a draft opinion in the case.

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