Senate in Day Two of Debate on Sotomayor

Senate in Day Two of Debate on Sotomayor Broadcast date: 8-5-2009 / Written by Dan Robinson From http://www.unsv.com/voanews/english/

The U.S. Senate is in its second day of debate on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the Supreme Court. Democrats responded to continuing Republican criticisms of Sotomayor's record,

while an additional Republican added his name to the list of those

supporting the nomination.

On the second day of debate all signs continued to point toward an

easy confirmation win for Sotomayor, the 55-year-old federal court

judge nominated by President Barack Obama earlier this year.

Although most of the 40 Senate Republicans are likely to vote

against her, the decision Wednesday of Missouri Senator Kit Bond

added to the number of Republicans who have committed to voting

for her.

Senator Bond, who is one of several Republicans retiring from the Senate next year, said while he

respects and agrees with the legal reasoning others in his party used to oppose Sotomayor,

lawmakers have an obligation to show deference to a president's choice of a nominee.

"If some are saying that a Democratic president should not have a liberal justice, does that mean a

Republican president should not have conservative justices? That is not something I could support,"

he said.

Additional Republicans, particularly those like Bond who do not risk political damage from a no vote,

may join in supporting the nomination.

Judge Sotomayor, who would become the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court, is all but

certain to achieve unanimous support from Democrats.

Democrats responded to Republican assertions that she would bring a left wing political bias to the

court, and allow her personal views to influence her decisions, criticisms driven by some of

Sotomayor's past public statements and writings.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy pointed to

statements that other Supreme Court nominees made in their

confirmation hearings regarding how their personal background help

prepare them for the court.

"Judge Sotomayor is certainly not the first nominee to discuss how

her background has shaped her character," he said. "Many recent

justices have spoken of their life experiences as an influential factor in

how they approach cases."

Republicans supporting Sotomayor voiced concern about partisanship,

under Democratic or Republican presidents, playing an increasingly

significant role in Senate confirmation debates.

Florida Republican Mel Martinez suggested that fellow Republicans were wrong in using the 2005

vote by then Senator Barack Obama's against conservative judge John Roberts to be Supreme Court

chief justice as justification for voting against Sotomayor. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 14 Jul 2009

Senator Patrick Leahy (file photo)

Saying even Sotomayor's worst critics failed to cite a single instance in which she strayed from sound

judicial thinking, Martinez said Senators have an obligation to give deference to a president's

assessment of a nominee.

"We sometimes confuse the role of the Senate. Elections have their consequences," said Martinez.

"Some of her writings and her statements indicate that her philosophy might be more liberal than

mine. But that is what happens in elections."

Hard core opponents of Sotomayor, such as Republican Mike Crapo, pointed to what they called

indications from Sotomayor's past statements that she would allow her Puerto Rican heritage and

experiences to influence her judgments.

"When discussing her gender and heritage, Judge Sotomayor said my experiences will affect the facts

that I choose to see as a judge," he said. "In another speech she said personal experiences affect the

facts that judges choose to see. This is simply shorthand for judicial activism and making policy

rather than applying the law."

Democrat Christopher Dodd said criticisms focused on a fraction of thousands of cases Judge

Sotomayor was involved in rather than what he called her enormous body of exemplary judicial work.

"So out of thousands of cases, eight items were brought up," he said. "You could do that with

anybody, but someone who has had 17 years on the bench, going through thousands of cases, if that

is the basis of going against their nominee I don't know that anyone could ever pass the test here."

Though some Republicans are concerned about potential political damage from opposing the nation's

first Hispanic nominee for the Supreme Court, one key Senate Republican dismissed that suggestion.

Senator John Cornyn told reporters that Republican's disagreements with Sotomayor were not