Justices Sotomayor and Alito Speaking Candidly

This video originally aired on Sunday, October 4, 2009.

About This Video

Mark Farkas, C-SPAN’s Executive Producer of The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court, discusses two interviews conducted with Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel Alito during the making of the documentary.

Discussion Questions

  1. What does Justice Sonia Sotomayor describe as “the most symbolically meaningful moment” for her since her confirmation?
  2. How many years lapsed between the time Justice Samuel Alito learned he could potentially be a Supreme Court Justice nominee until the time he was actually nominated? Why did it take this long? How might that have affected your judgement on potentially controversial issues during those interim years?
  3. After watching the clips featuring Justice Sotomayor and Justice Alito, did anything stand out to you? If so, explain what and why.
  4. Click here for more information on C-SPAN’s documentary, The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court, airing October 4, 2009, at 9 pm ET.

Keywords

JUDICIAL, Justices, U.S. Supreme Court

Related Subjects/Topics

  • U.S. Supreme Court

Speakers

  • Samuel Alito
  • Mark Farkas
    Producer
  • Sonia Sotomayor
    Justice