‘You have to shed the tears’: Justice shares that she cries after some Supreme Court cases

Last week, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor candidly shared the emotional toll that some days on the nation’s highest court can take.

“At times, I’ve found myself closing my office door after a case announcement and shedding tears,” Sotomayor revealed during an award acceptance speech at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. “There have been those moments. And there are likely to be more.”

Although Sotomayor, the most senior liberal-leaning justice on the court, did not reference specific cases or arguments that prompted her emotional response, she acknowledged moments of profound sadness and even desperation.

“There are occasions when I’m deeply, deeply saddened,” she admitted. “And yes, there are moments when even I experience desperation. We all do. But you have to acknowledge it. You have to accept it. You have to let the tears fall, and then you have to wipe them away and continue to fight.”

These reflections from Sotomayor come at a time when the Supreme Court is poised to rule on contentious cases, including matters concerning abortion rights, firearms, free speech, and former President Donald Trump’s claims of immunity amidst criminal allegations related to the 2020 election.

However, this isn’t the first instance of Sotomayor sharing personal insights into the challenges of serving on the court. Earlier this year, she spoke to students at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, revealing the intensity of her workload and the emotional weight of losses on a bench predominantly occupied by conservatives.

“I grapple with frustration daily,” she disclosed in January. “Each defeat truly weighs on me, both in my gut and in my heart.”

Appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009, Sotomayor is one of three current Supreme Court justices nominated by Democrats. Alongside former Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Elena Kagan, she often delivers pointed and emotionally charged dissents on contentious rulings, such as the 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which they deemed “catastrophic” in a fiery dissent.