ASSOCIATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SFLRA Congratulates Judge Sonia Sotomayor on her Supreme Court Justice Nomination Press Contact: Xochitl Marquez, Vice President of Communications(323) 841-9061,xmarquez@goldfarblipman.com
(San Francisco, CA, May 26, 2009) — San Francisco La Raza Lawyers congratulates Judge Sonia Sotomayor on her nomination as the next Supreme Court Justice. San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association lauds this momentous and ground breaking nomination of the first Latina justice. San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association supports the president in his decision.
May. 28, 2009 Sotomayor is a shining example of what people are capable of when presented with possibilities, writes Niki Solis. The Daily Journal, FORUM COLUMN By Niki Solis
Posted with the permission of
Daily Journal Corp. (2009)
The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court is a moment that will burn in my conscience forever. It is not only that we grew up on the same gritty Bronx streets or that we attended the same Catholic high school, thanks to the sacrifice of parents who desperately believed in education as a way out of poverty, but more essentially, her nomination harnesses the promise of a new era for our country. It is an era that not only tells every child that he or she too can achieve their dreams, but one that broadcasts the achievement of those dreams for the whole world to see.
You don't have to be a "Bronxite" or a fellow Spellman High School alumna to appreciate Sotomayor's historic nomination. You don't have to be a Latino/a to stand proud at this moment in our history, where we are finally realizing that we can all succeed if given the opportunity. While many would say that Sotomayor's journey was an improbable one, what is a more just assessment is that it was based on possibilities, not improbabilities.
Here is a woman who grew up in the South Bronx projects and went to a competitive Catholic high school. She came out at the head of her class. Here is a woman who went on to Princeton University, an Ivy League school, and graduated summa cum laude, once again at the head of her class. Here is a woman who went on to what many consider to be the finest law school in the country, and was one of only a handful of people who can say they edited the prestigious Yale Law Journal, and once again, she proved that she stands firmly at the head of her class. She is remarkable not only in her achievements but in the spiritual fortitude it must have taken for her to accomplish them. The job she seeks to undertake could have been filled by a number of other accomplished individuals who have also graced the halls of top educational institutions and edited law reviews under the canopy of Ivy League institutions. I dare to say that none of these other individuals has been raised by a widowed mother, speaking Spanish before English, in the poorest and most violent streets in our country, and with little or no advantages save a belief that family and education are an indispensable means to achieve one's dreams. Sotomayor's story confirms that the principles our country holds dear can become reality not in the distant and amorphous future, but now. That is the triumph of her nomination.
As the confirmation process looms, it is certain that her opinions, speeches and lectures will be parsed for a sign that she should not serve on our nation's highest court. The political fight may be heated, as some conservatives have already vowed, or it may be uneventful. After all, given her qualifications, who could argue with her fitness to serve unless the quibble is with her politics? Regardless of the process or of the outcome of her nomination, the dams of history have been opened and the hope, which is the water that has been unleashed, will trickle down. It will trickle down to the kids in the South Bronx, and other places like it, who sit in broken classrooms that have failed them. It will trickle down to young women who struggle to make ends meet in a workforce that undervalues and underpays them. It will trickle down to anyone who has ever had a dream and hoped against hope that it would one day be realized. It is inevitable that the hope will trickle down and empower more Sonia Sotomayors to come. As long as the opportunities are there, the possibilities are boundless. It is our duty as a just society to see that these opportunities are there to meet them on their journey.
Sotomayor's journey should then be viewed as one of possibilities, not improbabilities. She has shown everyone, not just "Nuyoricans" (Puerto Ricans who hail from New York) and Latinos and Latinas, that with the right amount of fortitude borne of that American spirit that never says quit, the right amount of dedication and most importantly, the right amount of opportunity that makes for possibilities, a Latina from the South Bronx can do what many view as the improbable - become a Supreme Court justice.
Niki Solis is president of the San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association, and a 1986 graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.
Gerardo Sandoval Sworn in to San Francisco Superior Court
On April 14, 2009, the Hoborable Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown swore in former SF La Raza Lawyers Association board member, Gerardo Sandoval, as judge of the San Francisco Superior Court at the state building in San Francisco California. It was a well attended event of community organizers, judges of the superior court and political dignitaries. Congratulations to Judge Sandoval for a successful campaign and election to the SF Superior Court Bench." For Photos of this event, click here.
The San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association
(SFLRLA) was founded in 1971 by Mario Obledo,
Cruz Reynoso, and Luis Garcia. SFLRLA serves
as a resource for and advocates on behalf of
the Latino legal community in the Bay Area.
With ten active committees and a number of annual events, SFLRLA provides attorneys with a number of opportunities to network, engage in advocacy, and give back to their communities. Our biggest event of the year is Noche de Gala, a dinner to raise scholarships for law students who work at public interest organizations during the summer.
If you are a member of the Latino legal community, please consider joining SFLRLA today! Click here to become a member of one of the oldest,
most active Latino bar associations in the country!
SF La Raza Lawyers Association endorses Diana Sen and Ed Torpoco in the
upcoming HNBA elections.
Ms. Sen's vision for the HNBA encompasses several goals. She would aim to coordinate an effective 2010 National Census Outreach Program; establish a "Lawyers in Transition" Program to help lawyers find jobs; increase HNBA membership benefits through networking and CLEs; expand the coverage and breadth of the HNBA's Mentorship Program; and finally, she would provide increased support and resources to HNBA regions and affiliates.
Diana Sen is a graduate of Emory Law School and is a member in good standing of the bars of New York and Georgia. She is an Associate Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF in New York City.
She has served on the HNBA Board for a total of three and a half years She is running for President-Elect because she desires to "make the HNBA a truly national organization that engages all Latinos even in the remotest of places" and "strives to give a voice to all."
On April 14, 2009, the Hoborable Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown swore in former SF La Raza Lawyers Association board member, Gerardo Sandoval, as judge of the San Francisco Superior Court at the state building in San Francisco California. It was a well attended event of community organizers, judges of the superior court and political dignitaries. Congratulations to Judge Sandoval for a successful campaign and election to the SF Superior Court Bench." 