Supreme Court Nominee Shares Her Personal Life Experiences but Promises Decisions Based on Impartial Justice
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Sotomayor blog: Deconstructing Sonia
by James Oliphant
The opening statement prepared by Judge Sotomayor, with input, no doubt, from the White House attempted to achieve several things in a bid to solidfy support and defuse expected GOP attacks. Here's a breakdown
1) That she has a compelling life story. "The progression of my life has been uniquely American."
2) That she has a wide variety of professional experience. "I have seen our judicial system from a number of different perspectives--as a big city prosecutor, a corporate litigator, a trial judge and an appellate judge."
3) That she can be tough on crime while being empathetic. "I felt the suffering of victims' families torn apart by a loved one's needless death. And I leanred the tough job law enforcement has protecting the public safety."
4) That she was first appointed to the federal district court by a Republican--George H.W. Bush.
5) That she likes baseball (and by implication, hot dogs, apple pie) -- she helped settle the baseball strike on 1994-95.
6) That she cares about the "little guy"--again a variation on "empathy:" "I have witnessed the human consequences of my decisions..."
7) . . . but that empathy doesn't mean she puts her thumb on the scale: "Those decisions have not been made to serve the interests of any one litigant, but to serve the larger interest of impartial justice."
8) Look at her record, not her speeches: "my record in two courts refelects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution."
9) That she's even handed, even dogmatic, in the way she writes opinions and this helps her be impartial."That is how I seek to strengthen both the rule of law and faithj and the impartiality of our justice system."
10) That this is a history-making appointment. (Are you listening, Republicans?) "Since President Obama announced my nomination in May, I have received letters from people all over this country, Many tell a unique story of hope in spite of struggles."
The Judiciary Committee just recessed until tomorrow. Why not keep going? Consider it a carefully planned product roll-out. Sotomayor's remarks end the day and will lead any news story about the hearings. A tough question-and-answer sequence might have resulted in a different result.
That, of course, will all come tomorrow. The fur starts flying at 10 a.m. ET.
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As senators debated Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination Monday, some of them really seemed to be fighting old political battles over former judicial nominees — including Chief Justice Roberts.
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