ALBANY – A review of Court of Appeals nominee Jenny Rivera’s scholarly writings portrays an attorney intensely proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and deeply concerned with social justice, women’s rights and feminist issues, especially as they impact the Hispanic population.
But while the writings offer strong evidence that Rivera is a political and social liberal, they give little indication of whether she would be an activist willing to bend the law to accomplish her goals, a restrained judge reluctant to meddle in the affairs of the other branches of government, a judge prone to dissents, or some combination of the various traits, habits and approaches that make up a judicial philosophy.
