Legal News

Should Sotomayor?s Diabetes Be Considered In the Nomination Process?

By Jennifer Forsyth

Questions about Judge Sotomayor’s health are undoubtedly going to come up as opponents search for any reason to question her fitness for the job. So the American Diabetes Association has done a pre-emptive move, coming out with a public statement today (here) applauding the choice of Sotomayor, who has was diagnosed with diabetes as a child. The association says that she should be evaluated on her qualifications as a judge, not on stereotypes or “misinformation” about diabetes.

“In the days leading up to this nomination, there were several media reports suggesting that Judge Sotomayor should not be considered for this position simply because she has type 1 diabetes,” said R. Paul Robertson, MD, President, Medicine & Science, American Diabetes Association. “The advancements in the management of type 1 diabetes have been just amazing over the last two decades and the ability of people to manage their diabetes successfully has been proven. People with diabetes can function and live a long and healthy life.”

The Huffington Post examined this issue recently and quoted legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin in this article as saying the topic was fair game. “The issue of duration of service for a Supreme Court nominee is critical to any president, and thus health and medical issues are very much at the forefront of their considerations . . . It would be irresponsible for any president not to make the health of the nominee a major subject of concern, because presidents want decades of service from their nominees.”

Some people question if the diabetes debate is really just code language to say that the judge looks overweight and therefore presumed unhealthy. This article in The Times of South Africa takes Americans to task for the discussion on physical fitness for the job: “It's not as is if these women are getting ready for anything physically gruelling, like the Comrades Marathon, for example. Their task will be to spend sleepless nights mulling over some humungous legal books, and thereafter appear in court in those big, baggy, black robes. There is nothing in the job that requires a figure akin to that of fashion model Naomi Campbell, nor the endurance levels of Ethiopia's long-distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie.”

What say you Law Blog faithful? Is the American Diabetes Association right that this is a foul ball?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 26, 2009 (boomark / email).