Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor on campus for Appellate Court swear-in
By Mia Timlin
On Oct. 11, the O’Shaughnessy welcomed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor as she introduced and swore-in her former law clerk, Judge Elizabeth Bentley, as the newest member of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The ceremony included a lineup of speakers singing Bentley’s praises including Senator Amy Klobuchar, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Natalie Hudson, Deputy Commissioner (and Judge Bentley’s spouse,) Andrew Bentley and secretary of the Minnesota Bar Association Kenya Bodden.
Judge Bentley joins the Court of Appeals following a career as an appellate attorney for Jones Day, a clerk of the Supreme Court, Second Circuit Appeals Court and New York District Court, a Special Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Counsel during the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and most recently, a full-time visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota’s Law School, where she taught and established the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic. Her clinic allows law students to engage in litigation that “appeals on behalf of clients facing issues relating to civil rights, social and criminal justice, racial equity, and/or individual rights and liberties.”
Each speaker leading up to Judge Bentley’s swearing-in brought up her work in civil rights advocacy in their recommendations of her instatement. Sotomayor emphasized her commitment to her community and clients saying, “It is my firm belief and experience that the best judges in any legal system are those with a non-flinching commitment to public service. Law exists to serve people, so judges will share a belief in our common code to pursue the public good. [Bentley’s] legal career and her commitment are a testament to commitment to service. That same commitment also reflects itself in every memo she wrote for me and in every opinion she helped me draft. She never forgot the people at the heart of every legal dispute.”
Sotomayor’s presence at the ceremony had an evident impact on all those in attendance. Lt. Gov. Flanagan took a moment in her speech to call it out, saying, “but like, let’s be honest, who are we kidding? Can we just fangirl for like one second everybody?”
Flanagan also took a moment to recognize the stage that the ceremony was being held in, saying that her statement of being proud to stand on it came from a personal place. “I’m standing on the same stage that my mom once crossed to receive an associate’s degree so she could become a phlebotomist. As a single mom she needed the help of my aunties and some public benefits so she could take classes and get into a career that paid a little more and help people. Much of what I needed to learn to be ready for this job that I have today was learned by watching my mom walk across this stage when I was a little kid back in the 80s.”
Flanagan later goes on to address Judge Bentley’s children in the audience, telling them that “you also get to watch your mom walk across this stage, and do something that will make you incredibly proud.”
The night being an event of celebrating the legal and political accomplishments of women, was one that was threaded through with acknowledgments of motherhood. Flanagan kicks it off with the remark that “so much of the law goes back to what our moms taught us. That everything and everyone should be treated fairly.”
Klobuchar touches on a story of a restroom run-in with Sotomayor’s late mother, Celina Báez, which nearly made her late to one of her first Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Klobuchar describes getting back to a waiting court after Báez’s attempt to swap family stories in the bathroom, to find an email from her own mother, reading off, “‘Where are you? I have been waiting for this as all these other guys have gone on and on and on.’” Klobuchar adds that her mother’s closing statement was “‘I watched Senator Feinstein, she was brilliant. What are you going to do?’”
Sotomayor notes on that lovingly comical criticism, saying that Báez and Klobuchar’s mother would have gotten along. She describes the first time her own mother saw her in court, saying that her reaction was, “you need to be nicer.”
The idea of motherhood comes through the most clearly in Judge Bentley’s own remarks following her swearing-in. She addresses each of her three children one by one, asking them each “what is a judge?” and giving them each a different answer. The final three answers are a perfect encapsulation of the words shared all night surrounding Bentley’s humanity, work ethic, compassion and dedication to service.
“So, my three kids,” Bentley says. “What is a judge? A judge is a courageous, independent thinker, a civic leader and an empathetic communicator. That sounds like a pretty awesome job to have when you grow up.”
