Justice Sotomayor Stands in ‘Solidarity’ with Embattled ABA

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she appeared at an American Bar Association event Thursday “as an act of solidarity” with the embattled organization.

A lawyer’s job is to stand up for those who can’t, Sotomayor told a group of trial attorneys at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington. “Right now, we can’t lose the battles we are facing.”

The ABA has come under attack by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has limited government attorney participation in events hosted by the voluntary lawyers’ association, citing the group’s “activist causes.”

The ABA said it laid off more than 300 employees after the Trump administration cut $69 million of grant funding.

“This is our time to stand up, be heard,” said Sotomayor, who was appointed to the court by President Barack Obama in 2009.

Sotomayor received the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Lifetime Liberty Achievement Award at the event.

Her remarks followed those of Chief Justice John Roberts, who spoke Wednesday in Buffalo.

Roberts, 70, said he had no plans to retire. “I’m going out feet first,” he said.

In contrast, Sotomayor, also 70, said she wants to retire one day. Citing her years as a trial attorney, she said upon retirement, “I’m going back to trying cases.”