The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Sonia Sotomayor - "Just Ask!" & Life as a Supreme Court Justice

Episode Date: November 14, 2021

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor discusses her children's book "Just Ask!" and the reality of being a member of the Supreme Court. Originally aired September 2019. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiterers smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. Immediately after you post your job, Zip Recruiter's powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it, and you can use Zip Recruiter's pre-written

invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address, Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. Zip Recruiter. The smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second the th.. th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. th. th. th. the th. th. th. the the th. th. th. thi-S. the, the, thi-S. thi-S. thea-Sepepea-Sepe-Sepnipe, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. There. There. There. There. There. It. It. It's th. It's th. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's th. It's th. It's the. It's the. It's the. 0e. 0e. 0e. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. It is truly an honor to have you here on the show and just so we're all on the same page ahead of time. There are certain rules when speaking to a Supreme Court Justice, especially on TV and a few of those are, I know that you cannot speak about any cases or any of your colleagues or anything that could negatively impact the institution that is the Supreme Court. That is correct.

That is cool. So I just have a few... These ones. These ones. These ones. These ones. These ones. Okay. No, these ones. These ones. All right. No, welcome to the show. Let's begin with the book.

I haven't left you with much, right? No, you have. You have. Because I want to talk about the book. And, you know, after the break, it would be great to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to be to be to be to be to be the their, to be to be, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the book and then, you know, after the break, it would be great to get into the court and everything you've experienced while serving on it. A children's book is not exactly where you would expect a Supreme Court justice to be. You know, you'd expect it to be a book about law or a book, you know, about what's happening in the country or life and legalese, but a children's book is what you wrote. Just ask, be different, be brave, be you. Why?

I write law every single day. And most of it is going to go down in the history books. And after much time passes, some people may read one or two of those decisions. But if I can affect the lives of children, if I can inspire them to be bigger, better, braver, than they believe they can be, then I've left a real legacy of my judgment. And so for me, when I write for children or speak to them, it's to create that lasting gift that I hope will inspire them

to do something that they haven't even dreamed about. Wow. I'm a Supreme Court justice, and I tell kids all the time. I grew up in a Bronx housing project. There were no lawyers or judges in the time. I grew up in a Bronx housing project. There were no lawyers or judges in the housing projects. And I had no idea what the Supreme Court was. I didn't start to learn about it probably till high school, which is about when I started to read newspapers like the New York Times. Before that, in my home we had the Daily News, the New York Post, and the Spanish newspaper, which my father brought home every day as he rode the train home.

But for me, that's what I want kids to do. So want to be more than they can imagine. Who inspired you to be more than you could imagine? Because here you are in a position, highest courts in the land inspiring the youth, but someone had to inspire you. My mother. Born in greater poverty than I ever existed for me and my brother, in a situation in which her mother died when she was nine and her father abandoned her. And being raised by

her older brother and older sister. It was a tough, tough life that she had. And she did what millions of other young Americans have done. She joined the army. During World War II and she came over to the States and she ultimately met my father and my brother and I followed. But my mom in her 40s went back, not went back, went to college and got her registered nursing

lessons. That is amazing. That is amazing. Wow. Wow. Well, it's really hard with a mother like that, not to think education is valuable. I can only imagine. And in the book, it really speaks to it because you are talking to kids from a very personal place. The book is called Just Ask.

And what I really love about the book is you have these stories of a group of kids who go into a garden. And really, it's a tale about children who may be facing difficulties in their lives. You know, you have a little child who has ADHD. You have another child who has to turets. You have Sonia who is diabetes. I wonder where that came from. And it's a story about the kids having, the kids, their their their, their, their, their, and their, and it's, their, I I I I their, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I'm, I'm, I'm, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, I their, I th. And, I th. And, I th... And, I is is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is, I is a thi... And, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, today, today, ta, ta, ta.a. ta. ta. ta, ta, their, their having whatever they have to deal with,

but the one obstacle you don't want them to face is people judging them because of what they have to deal with. Judging them because of their difference. Right, how did people judge you because of your differences? Like, was there ever something that happened to you where diabetes, you know, it seems like everyone just accepts that? No. But they don't. And the just just the accepts that. No, but I they don't and the just-ast title was born over 30 years ago. When I was seven and a half I was diagnosed with diabetes and I started to give myself injections of insulin every day and as was common back then, gratefully less common today,

I was embarrassed by my condition. Right. I thought it showed weakness. I thought my friends would make fun of it. And so I hit it. And as I grew older, and I took multiple shots a day, because at first it was only one and I did that at home. Over time, it grew to two shots and still at home, morning and afternoon. But as I grew older, multiple shots a day were more common and more frequently

before I ate anything. I was in a restaurant in New York in my early 30s, and I would order my meal, and then go to the bathroom to give myself my shot. This day, I didn't go into the stall. I. I. I. I. I. I the stall. I. I. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I the store. I th. I th. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I to to to too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. I too. too. too too too too too too too too too too too too too too too too too too too. I too. I then go to the bathroom to give myself my shot. This day I didn't go into the stall. I stayed in the public areas because it was a too stall bathroom and there was no one there. As I was finishing a woman walked in, she saw me doing what I was doing and finishing up, putting my injection away. And I walked out.

I ate dinner, finished, walked by the woman, and I overheard her say to her companion, she's a drug addict. And I stopped. And the first emotion I felt was shame. I was mortified. And then I thought about it for a second and I turned around and marched back to the woman and said, I'm not a drug addict. I'm a diabetic. And that shot you saw me take is the medicine that saves my life every day in sleep.

And if you don't understand when someone's doing something different than you expect, just ask, don't presume the worst in people. And I walked away. And theyrown. And. But that didn't make me decide to disclose my diabetes to others, not yet. What happened a few years later is I was at a party that I threw at my home with some of my best friends that I have in the whole world. People who I know adore and love me and who take care of me in every situation.

And all of a sudden I fell asleep on my bed. And they thought I was asleep. I was really in a sugar low. I was semi. I was really in a sugar low. Right. I was semi-unconscious. Thankfully, someone had to shake me to ask me for the telephone for a cab to go home. This is before Uber, ladies and gentlemen. And lift and all those other things.

At any rate, I struggled with trying to remember the number and I couldn't. Wow. But I then just sat on a stair that was, I had, my backyard had a set of small steps and I sat down there, couldn't go much further because that's what sugar glows do to you. And one of my friends walked over with a piece of cake, and I grabbed it with my hand and stuffed my face with it. Which was an unconscious reaction that I needed the sugar in the cake. Because you knew you needed the sugar.

Right. Well, my friends didn't know what was happening. Because I had never told them. And so I almost died in a room full of people who loved me. And I thought about it and had a conversation with many of them afterwards about what happened, why. And I realized that I should not hide my condition. Not only because it was dangerous for me, but because if

something had happened to me and my friends were there, they would never be able to forgive themselves. Because they wouldn't have known something about you that could have saved your life. Exactly. And I think it was a kindness to me and one to my friends where I then chose to become open about my condition. And just ask is encouraging friends to look at the people in your life who do things differently or differently able, and talk to them about it.

Figure out and find out how it affects them. And how you can help and when. Because I don't need help all the time, but I do sometimes. And people should know that. And you should know that about the people you love and care about. And so for me, the just ask is encouraging, not just the children like me who are differently able to speak about their conditions, to be brave about them, in the way they are every day.

Right. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiter's smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. Immediately after you post your job, zip recruiters powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it. And you can use Zip Recruiter's pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the

haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruit iter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address. Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. Again, that's Zip Recruiter. The smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News.

Listen to 60 Minutes a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Think about how hard it is for a dyslexic child to read. Now, they can do it, and they do it every day that they're in school, but it's a challenge for them. And it's important to understand that challenge. Or Julia, who bears the name of a special little girl in my life, who has Tourette's syndrome. And it's actually one of my favorite scenes is that one.

If you look in the book, you'll see, one of the symptoms of Tourette's is uncontrolled body movement. Blinking is one of turrets is uncontrolled body movement. Blinking is one of them, but so are unexpected motion sometimes sounds. And Julia's blinking and the owl blinks back at her. But Julia had an incident when she was smaller. She was in a store, and her turrets went into action, and she was moving around uncontrollably. And a woman looked at her and said,

don't you have a mother that can control you? Wow. Thankfully, she does. She has a mother who's a schoolteacher and set that lady straight. Oh, I love it. But every single story in the book has that feeling of overcoming. I also love that you have the book in Spanish as well. Just ask, is solo pregunta if I've said that correctly.

And the book is available now. Just ask, I've always wondered what it is like to be on a Supreme Court, and not just in terms of the legal part of it, but all of the pressures that come with the job, you know, shaping the course of a country, and at the same time, trying to remove yourself from the fray of what's defining what is happening in that country. How removed our Supreme Court justices from the everyday fray?

Like, are you just like Instagram only? No Twitter? Is that what you do? I don't do either. Some of my colleagues might. I won't give them a, okay? I'm going to say Ruth Biddy Ginsburg. I'm saying Ruth Biddy Ginsburg, Twitter. That's what I'm going with. I think that would be far-fetched.

Every one of they became justices. Some of them were even in the political arena. Some of them have worked for the White House, others. Everybody has, as one of my dear judge friends once said to me, most judges are political, either in the capital P sense or the small P sense. And the capital P is those who have worked in politics, the small P are people like me who were involved in non-profit organization and other government organizations. So everyone is an involved person.

And I dare say that every one of us is a little bit above the fray because we can't comment about the fray. But we certainly read about what's happening in the world and we stay tuned to the news. I'm not going to say which channels. But every... She watches the Daily Show. I mean, that's what...no, no, no, no, no, you can't applaud because then it would be true. We know, but sorry, let's carry on. Please, I forgive them, Justice.

I know, we know, but carry on. But the point is that we're not monastic in the sense of not knowing what's happening in the world. So how do you then, you know, relate to each other? Because one thing that's that has that has that has that has thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, they. thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, please, please, please, please, their, please, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to me, to, to, to, to me, to, to, to, to, to, to, they. to, they. to each other because one thing that has... So we don't talk about politics. That's interesting. That's actually what I wanted to know. Because you have nine people who have different political leanings who are all extremely skilled when it comes to applying law. And oftentimes you have to argue against each other.

So when you're having lunch with each other, when you're just, you know, in that downtime, what do you talk about? No politics. We stay away from religion and politics. The two subjects that most people who, if they don't want to fight, should stay away from. And we do. So what do we talk about? What bad movie did we see yesterday? Sometimes what good movie. Okay. What books we're reading? And most of my colleagues, myself included, love history books.

And so all of us are generally reading something that we find fun and will recommend to the others. Interesting. We talk about kids, lots of talks about grandchildren, sometimes about food. Any topic that any group of friends would have that doesn't involve a contentious issue, we talk about. Okay, okay, so you stay away from politics and then the final episode of Game of Thrones.

That makes sense. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at Zip Recruiter's smart technology, to their to-ruiters' powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it, and you can use Zip Recruiter's pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them

to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality to to to to to the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thtta, thtta, thi. the, thttae, the th, the th, the th, the th, the th, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. ttax. tp. tip, tip, tip, tip, tip recruiting. tip recruiting. tip recruiting. tip recruiting. tip. tip. tip.ruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address. Zip Recruiter.com. SIP Recruiter.com slash Zip. Zip Recruiter. The smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.

Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like, none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News, listen to 60 Minutes a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. The court is constantly thrust into the spotlight, especially in American news news. Now, you know, apart from presidents that come and go, apart from news stories that come

and go, what do you think is important in and around, you know, a confirmation of a justice or what do you think the most important qualities of a judge have to be? Because it is, you know, one of the highest positions you can possess in the land........ the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. It, the the, th. the, the, that, that, that, that, that, the, the, that, that, that, that, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th.. The, the, the, th... The, the, the, th. The, the, th. The, th. The, th. The, the, the, the, the, that, that, that, the, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, the, the, thateat, that, the, what do you think the most important qualities of a judge have to be? Because it is one of the highest positions you can possess in the land. I'm going to answer that differently. I'm going to answer a question you haven't asked, but I think is much more important.

What should you possess as a citizen? And I think that in this room full of people, if I ask every non-lawyer in the room, and maybe some lawyers, how many Supreme Court decisions have you read from beginning to end, no one will raise their hand. All the news people get is from the newspapers or television, the soundbite, you know, the headline. Yes. This side won, this side lost, but nobody talks about the reasoning. Very few people do. They'll quote a sentence here, a sentence there. But I think if you're going to be an informed person,

you should really read the decisions. Because that's where both sides, if there are two sides, court agrees a lot. So it's not that every case is split. But those that are, you should read both sides. To understand which arguments were applied and why they were applied. Exactly. And I think you will think th th th th th th th to th be to th be th be thi to th be thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi their thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi their their thi thi their thi thi thi thi thi thi theeeea thea thea theauoooooooooooooooooooooooooooes. their applied. Exactly. And I think you will think more highly of the judges and I think you'll realize something that most people think don't

think of. You like a decision so you agree with the side that one. If you don't, you're going to disagree with them. But unless you engage with the arguments, you don't understand how hard the questions are. And the fact that even when you win, sometimes it wasn't so clear that you should have. And so I think it would be make people much more respectful of the court as an institution, but of courts generally, if they took the time to read those decisions that they feel affect them so deeply deeply... deeply so deeply so deeply so deeply so deeply so deeply so deeply so deeply so deeply the deeply so deeply the deeply so deeply so deeply the deeply the deeply the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the questions the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their the, thea, thi thi a thi a thiaughea, thia, thiaughea, thia, thia, thiaughea, their their thia but of courts generally, if they took the time to read those decisions that they feel affect them so deeply.

Oh, that's powerful, but people won't read. So my counter would be, my counter would be, my counter. But you count on that. Yes. No, I mean, I, you know, everyone would like the idea of everyone reading, but my counter would be what you just you you you you you you you you you you to be the the the the idea of everyone reading, but my counter would be what you just said. You said, people get their news from the TV and the headlines and the sound bites.

The Supreme Court is still only in written and audio form. And I'm saying, like, I could produce like a courtroom show, where like, you guys are on camera. Because I'm sure some people don't even recognize you in the street. And you affect the country, you could be signing, the, the, the, the, the, you affect the country, you could be signing autographs. I'm not saying I could make you famous. I'm just saying like, you know, I'm saying we could do. Do you think maybe the court should jump into the era of TV

and broadcast what you're doing? No. You walk into our court rooms, and we're not made for TV. the lawyers have presented us with briefs. Friends of the court call amic eye a lot more briefs. The courts below have made a decision. We start questioning lawyers. Most of the time, the audience

doesn't understand what we're talking about. Because we're asking from knowledge. We're asking from the place where we have a question after everybody's finished explaining everything to us. And so what we say can sometimes just be challenging for the sake of eliciting a response. Sometimes it can be genuine doubt about what the position of a person might be. Sometimes we're talking to each other and we're raising points through the questions that we want our colleagues to consider with us

because we're thinking about it and we know we're going to bring it up at conference among ourselves so it's nice to get it out so that we can have some time to think on it. So there's lots of reasons for what we're doing, but none of them are ever perfectly understood, often not, among the people who are listening. And I think if our arguments were televised, it might change the dynamic. You're going to get some people who will ask less questions. We've already have one person who's made that choice. Right.

If you want more, I think it could happen. You would have more studied questions, rather than those questions which are less studied and more inquisitive, and that we do ask and seek answers to. And we're human beings. And the drawer to play to TV affects every human being. And so I think you would change our institution so dramatically that it would be for its worse, not for the country's betterment. Every decision we make is written,

fully explained, fully defended, fully laid out. But you can't do that and maintain a show. Now that you've said that, I feel like no part of the US government should be on TV. Actually, that's what some senators said to me, that the partisanship in the Senate started to grow when cameras went into the Senate room. Because you want to appeal and you want to win votes and you want, yeah, it makes a public that has no idea that those Senate rooms now are completely empty.

It's the chair of the Senate. It is the senator speaking and some members of his staff. There is no one else in the room but the camera. And they're speaking to the camera, not to each other. And I know because I was interviewed by senators. They're not back in their offices listening to what's happening on TV. They're back in their office conducting business.

Maybe a staffer is watching. But many senators told me that they felt that much of the collegiality died when they stopped getting together in that room and we're forced to listen to each other and we're forced to sit next to each other and talk to each other. Now they barely see each other except running through the hallways. So I think you said a joke, some might think it might be a good idea to return to those. Because I understand how difficult it can be to be natural on TV. Just as Sonia Sotomayor, everybody.

Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th,

wherever you get your podcasts. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.