Justice Sonia Sotomayor reflected on her time on the Supreme Court on Friday, acknowledging that some of the court’s decisions have moved her to tears.
“There were days when I would come into my office after the case was announced and I would close the door and cry,” Sotomayor said Friday at an event honoring her at Harvard University.
“There have been days like that. And there will be more,” she added in her speech. The New York Times.
The Harvard event came as the Supreme Court heads into the final weeks of its session, when it is expected to issue opinions on several high-profile cases, including whether a former president accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election should be immune from prosecution and concerns surrounding the use of abortion pills such as mifepristone.
Sotomayor, the most senior liberal justice on the conservative-leaning court, did not mention any specific cases in her speech.
She was appointed to the nation’s highest court by former President Barack Obama in 2009. Since then, she said she has had differences of opinion with her fellow justices.
“Just because we disagree doesn’t make the other person evil or a bad person,” she said, noting that it can be difficult.
She acknowledged that the disagreement was emotional, but the Times noted that she maintained an optimistic tone even as she expressed her frustration.
“There are moments when I feel really, really sad,” Sotomayor said. “Yes, even I have moments when I feel despair.”
“We all feel that way, but you have to acknowledge it, accept it, shed a tear, wipe it away and get up,” the judge added.
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