Sotomayor confronts her critics
After hearing two months of pointed attacks against her, Sotomayor had a chance to defend herself and elaborate on her past decisions and views of law.
“Wise Latina”
During the first day of direct exchanges between senators and the nominee at her confirmation hearings, Sotomayor explained a statement she made in a 2001 address: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”
Republicans seized on the remarks to suggest bias on the part of Sotomayor, some even calling her a “reverse racist,” but this was the first time Sotomayor herself defended herself.
She said she was simply trying to colorfully layer her comments on top of former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s statement that wise old man and wise old woman would reach the same results in a case.
“I was trying to play on her words. My play fell flat. It was bad,” Sotomayor said.
On being impartial
At one point, Sotomayor appeared to contradict the President Barack Obama saying she took issue with Obama’s statement in a 2007 speech that, in 5% of cases, a judges “heart” would dictate the outcome.
“No, sir. I wouldn’t approach the issue of judging in the way the president does…Judges can’t rely on what’s in their heart. They don’t determine the law. Congress makes the law. The job of a judge is to apply the law…It’s not the heart that compels conclusions in cases, it’s the law,” Sotomayor said. “We apply law to facts. We don’t apply feelings to facts.”
Abortion
The federal appeals court judge was asked how she felt about the landmark Roe versus Wade ruling legalizing abortion in 1973.
Sotomayor told the committee that "there is a right of privacy. The court has found it in various places in the Constitution." She said this right is stated in the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure and in the 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal protection of the law. She declined to say pointblank if she agreed with the high court's precedent on this volatile issue.
The issue of abortion rights has been central to Supreme Court confirmation fights for two decades or more, and with her statement Sotomayor came close to saying the issue was settled law but stopped short of that flat declaration.
On a side note, the woman known as "Jane Roe" in the landmark Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade was arrested at Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing. Norma McCorvey is best known for her role in the 1973 court ruling that secured a woman's right to an abortion. Years after the pivotal case, McCorvey recanted her support for abortion rights and became an active anti-abortion demonstrator.
McCorvey and another protester were arrested after she interrupted the proceedings.
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