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Originally published 04:45 a.m., July 13, 2009, updated 05:15 a.m., July 13,
2009
Sotomayor faces easy route to confirmation
Kara Rowland<about:/staff/kara-rowland/>
(Contact<about:/staff/kara-rowland/contact>)

The Supreme Court confirmation prospects of Judge Sonia Sotomayor appeared good
Sunday as one Democratic senator said he expects her to receive more votes than
the hefty majority for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Republicans
indicated they don't expect a filibuster.

The Senate Judiciary Committee starts at 10 a.m. Monday the confirmation hearing
of Judge Sotomayor to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter.
Judge Sotomayor, a member of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has met with
89 senators.

"She has wowed people," Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said on
NBC's "Meet the Press." "She is going to be approved by a large margin."

Mr. Schumer predicted that Judge Sotomayor, who would become the first Hispanic
member of the nation's high court, likely would garner more support than Chief
Justice Roberts, who received 78 votes in 2005.

Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, said he doubts Judge Sotomayor will have a
fate similar to another Hispanic nominee to the federal bench, Miguel Estrada,
whose confirmation was filibustered by Democrats seven times.

"We're not going to filibuster Judge Sotomayor like the Democrats did Miguel
Estrada, who would have been on the Supreme Court, I would have predicted, if he
had not been filibustered and denied an up-or-down vote," Mr. Cornyn said on
"Fox News Sunday." "I think she'll have an up-or-down vote."

A filibuster would be a tough sell anyway because it would require at least 41
votes, which is increasingly difficult now that Senate Democrats have a caucus
of 60 with the seating of Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Obama called Judge Sotomayor
on Sunday morning to wish her good luck.

"The president expressed his confidence that Judge Sotomayor would be confirmed
to serve as a justice on the Supreme Court for many years to come," the White
House said.

Judge Sotomayor is expected to face questions from Republicans on several
comments that suggest her racial background influences her interpretation of the
law. One remark she made in a 2001 speech has been a lightning rod for
controversy.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences,"
Judge Sotomayor said then, "would more often than not reach a better conclusion
than a white male, who hasn't lived that life."

"She has advocated a view that suggests that your personal experiences, even
prejudices - she uses that word - it's expected that they would influence a
decision you make, which is a blow, I think, at the very ideal of American
justice," Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the Judiciary Committee's ranking
Republican, said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "I am really flabbergasted by the
depth and consistency of her philosophical critique of the ideal of impartial
justice."

Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, shrugged off Mr.
Sessions' concerns as "grasping at straws."

"I've asked her about her speeches," he said alongside Mr. Sessions on "Face the
Nation." "And she said ultimately and completely, the law controls. And as a
judge, she's shown over and over again that ultimately and completely, the law
controls. Anything else is nitpicking."

Mr. Leahy stressed that Judge Sotomayor "has been a judge longer than anybody
who's gone on the Supreme Court in almost 100 years."

Republicans also raised concerns about Judge Sotomayor's decision in the case of
a group of white firefighters who said they were improperly denied a promotion
because of race. The Supreme Court recently overturned her order, siding with
the New Haven, Conn., firefighters.

More than 30 witnesses, including Judge Sotomayor, are expected to testify.
Republicans have given one of their 14 slots to one of the white firefighters in
the case.



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