Legal News

Sotomayor Hearings Begin: Sens. Leahy and Sessions Rattle Their Sabers

By Nathan Koppel

Editor’s Note: The Journal’s Nathan Koppel is blogging this week from the Senate confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor, giving quick impressions in some posts and longer legal analysis in others. This is his first post.

Despite about 1,000 moving parts in a crowded Senate committee room, the Sotomayor confirmation hearing began promptly on time this morning.

Here are a few quick impressions:

Sotomayor–pictured with Sens. Leahy and Sessions (right)–spoke for only about a minute, but she quickly showed flashes of charm when asked to introduce her family. "We'd be here all morning if I introduced all my family members," she said. When she turned to her mom, brother and immediately family, seated behind her, even some of her Republican detractors smiled warmly.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Leahy, in his introductory comments, came out swinging, almost suggesting that aggressive questioning of the nominee might border on racism. He talked about the hostile questioning Thurgood Marshall received, at his confirmation hearing, including: "Are you prejudiced against the white people of the South?" And Louis Brandeis, he added, got questions about the "Jewish mind" and how "its operations are complicated by altruism." To bring the point home, Leahy said: "I trust that all members of this committee here today will reject the efforts . . .to create a caricature of Judge Sotomayor."

Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the judiciary committee, took all of about a minute to say the "E" word, as in empathy, as a part of a treatise on the evils of activist, expansive judging. "I fear this empathy standard is another step down the road to a liberal activist, results-oriented world," Sessions said.

Republican Orrin Hatch invoked the failed confirmation hearing of Miguel Estrada for a circuit court post. Hatch said that Estrada is a respected appellate litigator with a compelling life story, but he was fiercely opposed. Hatch’s message: it’s okay to aggressively challenge attractive Hispanic candidates.

And while Democrat Dianne Feinstein was speaking, an abortion protester started screaming: “Abortion is murder.” He was quickly grabbed by security and dragged out of the room.

Photo: AP

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 13, 2009 (boomark / email).