Breaking In: The Rise of Sonia Sotomayor (39 page)

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Acknowledgments

This book began a year after Sonia Sotomayor joined the Supreme Court, as an exploration of her rise in the judiciary and the progress of Latinos in America. The project grew more exciting with her early moves on the bench and beyond the Court. Yet none of the story would have ended up between these covers if I had not been supported by dear friends and colleagues.

Some of them have been with me for more than a decade on these book projects, talking out ideas, reading draft chapters, offering their wisdom. At the top of that list is Elder Witt, a former Supreme Court journalist who provided guidance early and often on this one. Others who especially enhanced this book were Douglas Armstrong, Dick Carelli, Jim Drinkard, Pam Fessler, Judith Gaskell, Liz Hayes, Robin Meszoly, Phyllis Richman, and Andrea Weiswasser.

Mark Hugo Lopez, Becky Rivera, Ishmael Rivera, and Roberto Suro offered insights along the way about Hispanic politics and culture. Lopez, director of the Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project, was boundless with his time in this regard.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California–Irvine and a longtime friend, deserves special mention. He knows the law, he knows the Court, he knows this justice. He is also unmatched in his generosity, taking the time to provide substantive knowledge and personal encouragement no matter the hour on the California coast. Toni Locy, with whom I worked at
The Washington Post
and
USA Today
, must be singled out, too. As I was nearing a crucial deadline at the end of 2013 and thinking I’d never make it, she stepped in with her trademark energy and assisted especially on the final chapters.

For the third time, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars offered me research help on a book project. Alice Bosley, a WWIC research fellow in summer 2011, was first-rate, as was Edward Lawrence, my researcher on the Antonin Scalia biography who returned to help me in 2013. My thanks go especially to Lee Hamilton, Jane Harman, and Mike Van Dusen. The Wilson Center makes books possible.

In my daily journalism, I have been guided by a series of remarkable editors, including Fred Barbash, with whom I worked at
The Washington Post
in the 1990s and at Reuters more recently. Fred’s reporting on the Court in the 1980s remains a model. At
USA Today
, my home when this book began, three editors at the time, Lee Horwich, David Lindsey, and Rachel Smolkin, were especially encouraging of this project. Now at Reuters, I have the lucky fate that nearly everyone up my editing chain is not only passionate about journalism but also holds a law degree and is intrigued by all things judicial: from Howard Goller and Amy Stevens, with whom I work most closely, to Dayan Candappa, editor for the Americas, and Steve Adler, editor in chief. I am above all grateful to Howard, who turned his sharp editor’s eye to the final draft.

Others in the Reuters Washington bureau whose friendship and professionalism have sustained me along the way include Marilyn Thompson, our bureau chief, who I was fortunate enough to know first as an editor in the 1990s, and colleagues Caren Bohan, Kevin Drawbaugh, Ros Krasny, Katherina Lemus, Jack Shafer, and John Shiffman.

For twenty-five years, I have been part of a top-flight press corps at the Supreme Court. Two in our ranks were exceptionally generous in reading chapters and helping me explore ideas: Garrett Epps and Adam Liptak. Their thoughts made this a stronger book. Others who lent advice include Bob Barnes, Marcia Coyle, Tony Mauro, David Savage, Mark Sherman, Nina Totenberg, and Pete Williams. I have special appreciation for Lawrence Hurley, my partner covering the Supreme Court for Reuters.

At the Court, Public Information Officer Kathy Arberg and deputy Patricia McCabe Estrada were as professional as ever in arranging interviews and answering research questions. Court photographer Steve Petteway, with his usual creativity and cheer, helped round up the best photos.

I am grateful to Justice Sotomayor for her time and candor. This book was not “authorized,” and she was writing her autobiography for most of the time this project was under way. Yet she allowed me numerous visits to clarify and elucidate her life and views. Anchored by Theresa Bartenope, her staff was unfailingly obliging as I pursued information and trailed after the justice on her appearances, including to Puerto Rico.

My agents, Gail Ross and Howard Yoon, gave smart, steady advice. Without Howard’s support, especially, this book simply might not have been completed on time.

Finally, but essentially: Sarah Crichton, editor extraordinaire at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her ideas are fresh, her editing inspired, her humor sustaining. The super-efficient Marsha Sasmor joined Sarah as an editorial assistant just as this book was landing. I could not imagine finishing it without her.

My family likes these books most when they are done. In the intervening months (years), I am too preoccupied, postpone vacations, and fill our house with toppling stacks of research. Yet everyone I love seems to hang in there with me, generating appreciation as high as those stacks. My mother, Mary Jane Biskupic, remains a creative influence, as does the memory of my late father, Vince Biskupic. My husband, Clay, and daughter, Elizabeth, put up with the worst yet offer the most. My dedication page never changes.

Index

The index that appears in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

ABC

abortion rights; Ginsburg on; O’Connor on; Souter on

Above the Law
(blog)

Academy Awards

Acción Puertorriqueña

activism, judicial

Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

affirmative action; ballot initiatives on; history of; in Manhattan DA’s office; overturning of; as phrase; at Princeton; for promotions; Souter on; Thomas on; at Yale

affordable housing

Alabama

Alito, Samuel; on affirmative action; appointment of; in conservative bloc; on custody; as dancer

Alliance for Justice

Almanac of the Federal Judiciary

American Bar Association (ABA)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

American Dream

American Enterprise Institute

American Prospect, The

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

appeals courts, federal;
see also specific circuit courts

Argentina

Arizona

Arizona State University

Arnold, Richard

Arroyo, Martina

Arterton, Janet Bond

Ashcroft, John

Aspen Publishers

assimilation

Atencio, Dolores

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlantic, The

Audacity of Hope, The
(Obama)

Auffant, Charles

Axelrod, David

Babbitt, Bruce

Baca, Joseph