There’s “fresh humiliation” now for Sonia Sotomayor, one of the far-left justices on the U.S. Supreme Court who recently attacked another justice.
That’s according to reports that confirm she “has to apologize” for her “cheap shot.”
Ordinarily the nines justices on the bench keep their personal differences private. They may disagree vigorously, even offer criticisms and condemnations of the ideologies they oppose, in their opinions and dissents. But, ordinarily, they express collegiality to each other.
Not this time.
Constitutional expert Jonathan Turley had noted Sotomayor’s foray into blatant insults:
“Justice Sonia Sotomayor used an appearance this week to suggest that Justice Brett Kavanaugh is an out-of-touch elitist. The comments were a disturbing departure from the tradition of collegiality and civility on the court. It was unfair and unwarranted…
Justice Sonia Sotomayor used an appearance this week to suggest that Justice Brett Kavanaugh is an out-of-touch elitist. The comments were a disturbing departure from the tradition of collegiality and civility on the court. It was unfair and unwarranted…https://t.co/72aJImnbs7
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) April 10, 2026
The insult came because she didn’t like Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurrence in a decision regarding immigration.
Reports confirm she was speaking at a university, and she didn’t refer to Kavanaugh but said the author of the opinion didn’t understand immigration. She appeared to imply that Kavanaugh had led a sheltered or privileged life, telling the audience the writer had come from “a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”
RedState’s report said, “That’s just plain rude, not to mention discriminatory towards a person based simply on their background. Doesn’t sound very ‘woke’ to me. Meanwhile, the point she attempted to make is ludicrous: Just because someone’s parents worked for a living doesn’t mean they’ve never met an hourly worker – or even took on a starter job themselves at some point.”
After all Sotomayor herself attended Princeton and Yale.
There’s no word whether Chief Justice John Roberts gave her an order, but she eventually apologized.
“At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate. I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague,” she said.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor has issued a highly unusual public apology to a colleague, saying her criticism of Justice Brett Kavanaugh was unfair. https://t.co/TUwJcAD8eA pic.twitter.com/eUajHvTc7m
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 15, 2026
Turley had commented, “The attack suggests that, while she is a ‘wise Latina,’ Kavanaugh is a privileged prig on the Court. The fact is that many blue-collar (if not most) workers identify more with aspects of Kavanaugh’s jurisprudence. At a minimum, over half of the country is more likely to embrace his approach than that of Justice Sotomayor, who has been criticized for her comments in oral argument on issues ranging from abortion to puberty blockers to COVID restrictions.”
