Why Sotomayor Is Good For Pagan Rights

Now that Obama announced U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his pick to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court of the United States, you can bet that partisan groups on the left and right will be preparing for a high-profile fight. The SCOTUS Blog doesn’t see any major problems (barring an unforeseen ethics issue) in Sotomayor getting on the bench of our nation’s highest court (Slate agrees), but the process can be long and grueling. I briefly mentioned Sotomayor earlier this month in reference to a scaremongering article about her, but what chilled the heart of the (presumably Christian) conservative writing the piece, made me hopeful should she be appointed.

In 1994, Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of two prisoners who claimed to practice Santeria, a Caribbean religion that involves animal sacrifice and voodoo, saying that “distinctions between ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ religions” are “intolerable.”

Meanwhile, the Institute For Public Affairs has done a quick round-up of her opinions on religious liberty and finds her stances “very encouraging”. They also reference the prisoner free exercise case involving Santeria.

Campos v. Coughlin (1994). In this case, prison inmates asserted a free exercise right to wear multiple strands of beads under their clothes, as part of their practice of the Santeria religion. Judge Sotomayor upheld their claim.

For a more robust listing of Sotomayor’s religion decisions, check out this post from Religion Clause. For an in-depth examination of her entire judicial career, check out the SCOTUS Blog. I’m personally heartened at Sotomayor’s willingness to fight for the rights of religious minorities (especially in prison), I envision that her voice will become vitally important as some key issues involving the rights and freedoms of religious minorities make their way to the Supreme Court.