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GOP Assures "Fair Review" Of Sotomayor's Nomination As First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice
May 26, 2009 1:38 p.m. EST
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Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Despite criticisms from conservative groups about judicial activism, Republicans on Tuesday assured that they would give fair hearing to Appeals Court Judge Sonio Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's choice for his first Supreme Court nomination.
"Senate Republicans will treat Judge Sotomayor fairly," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement. "But we will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law even-handedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences."
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also said, "It is essential that the Senate conducts this process thoroughly and the President has assured me that we will have ample time to give Ms. Sotomayor's record a full and fair review."
"It is imperative that my colleagues and members of the media do not pre-judge or pre-confirm Ms. Sotomayor. It is my hope that the process will allow her to prove herself to possess the impartiality, integrity, legal expertise and judicial temperament that we have come to expect from those that sit on our highest court," Cornyn added.
The 54-year-old Sotomayor will need Senate confirmation before taking the seat of retiring Justice David Souter when the court's new term begins on Oct. 5. If confirmed, she will be the third woman and first Hispanic to serve in the high court.
Announcing his choice earlier that day, Obama had praised Sotomayor's "depth of experience," saying she had served in nearly every level of the judicial system a period of three decades.
Sotomayor, who appeared along with the President at the White House, said "I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights." She added, "I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences."
A graduate of Princeton and Yale Law School, Sotomayor was confirmed as an appeals court judge in 1998 by a 67-29 vote in the Senate.
Her notable court rulings include one favoring a decision by New Haven City officials to scrap promotions for firefighters after no blacks had passed qualifying examinations. She also had blocked Major League Baseball owners in 1995 from ending the system of free agency, helping to end a player strike.
Judicial Watch had received her nomination by issuing a warning that said, "If Judge Sotomayor shares Obama's activist judicial philosophy, U.S. Senators who want to protect the Constitution will have no choice but to oppose her nomination."
"Americans want the Supreme Court to make decisions based on the Constitution and not on some lawless standard that puts identity politics before the law. There is no room on the Supreme Court for someone who will put her feeling and politics above the rule of law," the group added.
Another conservative group, Judicial Confirmation Network, criticized Sotomayor as a judge who "thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written," and believes that "judges should dictate policy, and that one's sex, race, and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench."
Conversely, liberal groups such as the National Organization for Women and People for the American Way had praised the nominee.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), likewise praised Sotomayor in a statement, saying she "understands the real-world impact of the Court's decisions, rather than the mold of the conservative activists who second-guess Congress, and who through judicial extremism undercut laws meant to protect Americans from discrimination in their jobs, their access to health care and education, and their privacy from an overreaching government."
Leahy also called for bipartisanship during the confirmation process.
"Some groups in the Republican base have said they are 'spoiling for a fight,' no matter who was nominated. Republican Senators up to now have generally shown more responsibility than that, and the American people will want the Senate to carry out its constitutional duty with conscientiousness and civility," he said.
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