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Many years ago, Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice at the United States Supreme Court, still remembers being invited to a coffee by a man while she was a lawyer in the middle of the day. 39, a case.
"I was sitting there thinking:" What am I going to tell her? "She said in front of a crowd of about 800 people at the Harold Washington Library Center.
A male colleague defended her, but the moment has remained with Sotomayor and influenced not only her point of view but also her work, she said.
She recounted the anecdote by promoting two children's books she had recently written, "Turning Pages: My Life Story" and "The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor".
The books are based on Sotomayor's memoir "My beloved world," published in 2013. Books for both children will be available in English and Spanish.
Sotomayor said that reading had helped her overcome the grief that had followed the loss of her father when she was in fourth grade. "I learned to make books with my friends," she said. Whenever she read a book, she could "escape the sadness of her life".
Sotomayor discussed issues related to the Supreme Court, but there was no mention of the contentious appointment and possible confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh before the highest court in the country last week. Kavanaugh had been charged with sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, who, during her testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the Senate last month, had claimed that Kavanaugh had stuck her on a bed and had tried to lighten her up. Take it off at a party at home in 1982.
Sotomayor echoed a previous call to keep the court free from partisanship and ask judges to "enforce the law and not our personal preferences".
"We will have to show that we are not a partisan institution," said Sotomayor.
The Friday event focused on the books and the many children present.
Students at Horace Greeley Elementary School had prepared questions for Sotomayor, including: "Why did you become a lawyer?" (partly because of Perry Mason, aka Sotomayor) and "What do you like the most when you're not working?" ("Be with friends, get in trouble with them," she replied.)
Sotomayor's remarks were sometimes interrupted when someone in the crowd stood up to hug her as she walked through the audience to answer her questions. At the end of the event, she promised to sign each book purchased and take a picture with all the children present.
Thirty minutes before the start of the event, rows of twins poured into the block, full of young and old, male and female fans eager to see Sotomayor.
"She's super inspiring, especially for kids," said Veronica Brown, who attended her young son. "I'm Latina and it's wonderful to see a Latina play the role of a Supreme Court Judge. Hard work pays off."
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