Sotomayor: US Should Learn Limits of Presidential Power

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned Tuesday that a shaky grasp of civics is leaving Americans unsure where presidential power stops and monarchy begins. Speaking at a New York Law School event, Sotomayor argued that too few citizens understand the constitutional limits set on the presidency—a gap she views as troubling for democracy itself, NBC News reports. "Do we understand what the difference is between a king and a president?" she asked. "I think if people understood these things from the beginning, they would be more informed as to what would be important in a democracy in terms of what people can or should not do. But you can't make or criticize until you understand the reasoning behind the structure."

• Sotomayor steered clear of direct commentary on current events, but her remarks come amid recurring headlines about the broad use of executive power under President Trump. She has often dissented as the Supreme Court backed Trump's actions, such as downsizing federal agencies and removing officials shielded by Congress. In a July 2024 dissent, she warned, "In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law," after the court granted Trump sweeping immunity for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
• Referencing a poll that found limited support for democracy among young people, Sotomayor stressed the urgent need for civics instruction. She also pushed back on the assumption that all laws are good, citing the nation's history of unjust statutes like those legalizing slavery or segregation.

• Politico reports that in an apparent reference to Attorney General Pam Bondi's Monday vow to "absolutely target" anybody "targeting anyone with hate speech" in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Sotomayor said: "Every time I listen to a lawyer-trained representative saying we should criminalize free speech in some way, I think to myself, that law school failed." (On Tuesday, Bondi elaborated, saying "hate speech that crosses into threats of violence" is illegal.)
• The Daily Beast reports that Bondi's initial remarks were criticized by MAGA commentators including Matt Walsh. In a 2023 post on X, Kirk himself said, "Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free."

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