Justice Sotomayor urges lawyers "to stand up" in the face of feuding with the Trump administration

The US Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, on Thursday urged lawyers to defend the independence of the judiciary amid tensions between the judiciary and the administration of President Donald Trump.

During an event organized by the American Bar Association (ABA), Sotomayor stressed the importance of resisting pressures against the judiciary, according to a report by The Associated Press.

“Our job is to stand up for people who can’t do it themselves. And our job is to be the champion of lost causes,” the justice said.

“But right now, we can’t lose the battles we are facing. And we need trained and passionate and committed lawyers to fight this fight,” she added, stressing the need for a strong response.

Although she did not directly mention Trump, her comments come against a backdrop of tensions between the Republican administration and the judiciary, exacerbated by recent rulings contrary to the president's agenda.

Sotomayor is the third Supreme Court justice to speak out publicly in defense of the judiciary in the past week, following in the footsteps of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Jackson, in a speech last week to a conference of judges in Puerto Rico, warned of increased threats against justices. "Across the nation, judges are facing increased threats of not only physical violence but also professional retaliation just for doing our jobs,” she declared, according to the New York Times.

Although he avoided naming Trump, Jackson alluded to an "elephant in the room" when referring to attacks aimed at the judiciary.

Trump has referred to the judiciary on several occasions as well. Following a court ruling that barred the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants singled out as alleged gang members, in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called a judge a “Radical Left Lunatic" and a “troublemaker and agitator" who would not allow him to do the job for which he was elected president of the United States.

Meanwhile, the tension between the Trump Administration and the judiciary continues.