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Sotomayor Faces Grilling On Second Day Of Confirmation Hearings
July 14, 2009 8:24 a.m. EST
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Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The tough questions begin on Tuesday for Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the second day of hearings to confirm her as the first Hispanic and third woman Supreme Court Justice.
The panel reconvenes at 9:30 am. Witnesses for the 54-year-old judge include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former FBI director Louis Freeh, former Major League Baseball pitcher David Cone, and Columbia Law School professor Theodore Shaw.
Republican have as witnesses former Human Rights Commissioner Peter Kirsanow, former National Rifle Association of America president Sandy Froman, and Frank Ricci, director of Fire Services of the Connecticut Council on Occupational Safety and Health, and the plaintiff in the controversial New Haven firefighter case Sotomayor had ruled on.
Sotomayor gave a relatively brief statement on the first day of hearings, and during her remarks she gave her first public defense against conservative criticisms over statements that allegedly prove she is a judicial activist, and her membership in a "radical" Hispanic advocacy group.
"My career as an advocate ended-and my career as a judge began-when I was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York," she said. "Throughout my seventeen years on the bench, I have witnessed the human consequences of my decisions. Those decisions have been made not to serve the interests of any one litigant, but always to serve the larger interest of impartial justice."
"In the past month, many Senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law - it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms," she added.
Conservatives have cited Sotomayor's sometimes fiery temperament and a 2001 speech at the University of California, Berkeley to oppose her nomination. She had said in the speech, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often that not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
A TV ad from the Judicial Confirmation Network also shows footage of her saying, "The court of appeals is where policy is made."
Sen Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the Judiciary Committee's top Republican, in his opening statement reiterated concerns about how the Constitution's meaning might be "bent or changed" because of President Barack Obama's "empathy standard" for judges.
He made clear, "I will not vote for-no senator should vote for-an individual nominated by any President who is not fully committed to fairness and impartiality towards every person who appears before them...Call it empathy, call it prejudice, or call it sympathy, but whatever it is, it is not law. In truth it is more akin to politics. And politics has no place in the courtroom."
But Sotomayor calmly riposted, "The process of judging is enhanced when the arguments and concerns of the parties to the litigation are understood and acknowledged. That is why I generally structure my opinions by setting out what the law requires and then by explaining why a contrary position, sympathetic or not, is accepted or rejected. That is how I seek to strengthen both the rule of law and faith in the impartiality of our justice system. My personal and professional experiences help me listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case."
The arguments presented during the opening hours of the hearing, which went smoothly until a protester screamed while Sen. Dianne Feisntein (D-CA) was speaking, are in accordance with expectations among pundits, who say some Republican senators may be swayed to vote for Sotomoyor despite the seeming toughness of the opposition.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) may be one those, having expressed concerns about Sotomayor's appointment in his speech while also saying, "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're gonna get confirmed."
Sotomayor is being criticized for having been a member of Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund for 12 years beginning 1980. She was chairperson of the group's Litigation Committee, a member of the board of directors, and part of the Ad Hoc Committee on Reorganization and Long-Range Planning.
Also at issue is the Supreme Court's recent overturning of her ruling on a firefighter case. She had decided in favor of New Haven, which had canceled promotions in 2003 because not enough blacks had passed qualifying examinations. City officials were worried about being sued by African-Americans for workplace discrimination, but as it turned out they were sued by white firefighters.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary panel, had warned against partisanshp during his statement, saying no one should "demean" her and that Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice, had also been asked "questions designed to embarrass him."
Apart from the New Haven case, Sotomayor, a Princeton and Yale Law School graduate, had blocked Major League Baseball owners in 1995 from ending the system of free agency, helping to end a player strike.
Confirmed as an appeals court judge in 1998 by a 67-29 vote in the Senate, she needs Senate confirmation before she can sit as the first Obama Supreme Court nominee when the high court begins its new term on Oct. 5.
Democrats set her hearings to begin on Monday so that the Senate can confirm her by August 6, before Congress takes a month-long recess.
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