Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has apologized for “inappropriate” remarks that she made at Justice Brett Kavanaugh last week.
Sotomayor complained about Kavanaugh’s take on Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, a case in which Kavanaugh wrote a concurring opinion that dealt with stopping suspected illegal immigrants.
News: Sotomayor apologizes for her recent statement about Kavanaugh in a new statement from SCOTUS @CourthouseNews pic.twitter.com/2erOP58DRR
— Kelsey Reichmann (@KelseyReichmann) April 15, 2026
Sotomayor had said in part:
“I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only temporary stops,” Sotomayor said at a University of Kansas School of Law event on last Tuesday.
“This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”
The comment showed a rare public swipe at a fellow justice on the Supreme Court.
Just over one week after lobbing pointed personal criticism at Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called her remarks “inappropriate” and indicated that she had apologized to Kavanaugh.https://t.co/C3kUTF9uqo
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) April 15, 2026
🚨 JUST NOW: Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor APOLOGIZES for calling out conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh as privileged and out-of-touch with immigrants
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 15, 2026
“I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague.”
“At a recent appearance…I referred to a… pic.twitter.com/RXry4hHf7U
NEW: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor releases public apology to Justice Brett Kavanaugh for her "hurtful comments" describing him as privileged and out of touch for his concurrence in an immigration case.
— Jimmy Hoover (@JimmyHooverDC) April 15, 2026
Justice Sonia Sotomayor used an appearance this week to suggest that Justice Brett Kavanaugh is an out-of-touch elitist. The comments were a disturbing departure from the tradition of collegiality and civility on the court. It was unfair and unwarranted...https://t.co/72aJImnbs7
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) April 10, 2026
Justice Sonia Sotomayor has issued a highly unusual public apology to a colleague, saying her criticism of Justice Brett Kavanaugh was unfair. https://t.co/GMpjpQjsDq pic.twitter.com/qB35YD8NI1
— CNN (@CNN) April 15, 2026