Sotomayor Says She Uses Alternative Means to Decide Cases
WASHINGTON – On the first day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Judge Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee that if confirmed, she will rely on her “mood ring” to decide cases. A mood ring contains a thermochromic liquid crystal that changes color in response to body temperature and indicates the wearer’s emotional state.
“When I hear an oral argument, I will carefully monitor the color of my [mood] ring so that I have an accurate gauge of my emotional reaction to it,” she testified. “That’s how I intend to decide cases.”
In nominating Sotomayor for the high court, President Obama publicly stated that he was looking for a judge with “empathy.” He later clarified that remark: “By ‘empathy’ I mean ‘a mood ring,’” the President told MSNBC.
Sotomayor candidly admitted that in using her mood ring to decide cases on the Second Court of Appeals, it has never once changed to “blue,” indicating warm and happy feelings, for a white male litigant. ”White males almost always cause the ring to change to dark red or black, indicating anger and fear,” she explained.