- Sotomayor warned that partisan Supreme Court confirmations threaten the court's public perception.
- "The threat is greater and unprecedented than any time in our history," she said.
- Biden is due to nominate the first Black woman to the bench by the end of the month.
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor said on Wednesday that partisan confirmations for Supreme Court nominees are a threat to the public's perception of the court.
"Surely, it has an effect on the appearance of the impartiality of the court," Sotomayor said during a virtual conversation with the New York University School of Law, according to CNN. "We are far from the times when Supreme Court nominees would receive nearly unanimous approval even in divided congresses."
"The more partisan the voting becomes, the less belief that the public is likely to have that Congress is making a merits-based or qualifications-based assessment of judicial nominees," she continued.
The liberal justice's warning come as confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden's nominee are nearing. Biden is expected to nominate the first Black woman to the court by the end of this month, following Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement announcement in January. Breyer is expected to step down this summer.
Sotomayor suggested that the partisan nature of the Supreme Court confirmation process could even directly affect the way the court functions.
"I have concerns that we might be in crisis as norms in the nomination process are broken. As more senators, congressional representatives, governors, mayors, local politicians and the media question the legitimacy of the court, many of them heap scorn on the court," she said. "The threat is greater and unprecedented than any time in our history."
Senate Democrats have said they plan to move quickly to confirm Biden's nominee once her name is announced. Democrats can confirm Biden's pick on their own, as long as all 50 senators are on board and Vice President Kamala Harris casts the tie-breaking vote.
Given the divisiveness that has plagued the confirmation process in recent years, it appears less likely that Biden's pick will get a strong bipartisan showing, though some Republicans could vote in favor. Supreme Court confirmation votes for President Donald Trump's picks — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — mainly went along party lines. The partisan divisions date back further, as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, from being considered for the court in 2016.
Sotomayor's comments also come as more Americans question the Supreme Court's legitimacy, and public approval is at a record low. More than 60% of Americans say the court is motivated primarily by politics, rather than the law, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Another Quinnipiac University poll found that only 37% of Americans approve of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job.
"We need the public to hold its elected officials accountable in respecting the judiciary and its work," Sotomayor said, per CNN. "We can only do it if the public understands the important of our independence."