Opinion: Sotomayor hearings: ‘Let no one demean this extraordinary woman’

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It’s 10 a.m. and the hearing room in the Hart Building is packed to the rafters. Nearly all the seats are filled by media. Reports of the near-extinction of the Washington press corps seem to be greatly exaggerated. The public is outside, and many who hoped to view the proceedings will walk away disappointed.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor briefly introduced her immediate family. Now the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are giving their opening statements. Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy has called for a respectful process, saying, “Let no one demean this extraordinary woman.” He said he wanted the hearings to resemble those for Sandra Day O’Connor, nominated to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1981.

“I trust that all members of this committee here today will reject the efforts of partisans and outside pressure groups that have sought to create a caricature of Judge Sotomayor while belittling her record, her achievements and her intelligence,” Leahy said.

“Let no one demean this extraordinary woman, her success or her understanding of the constitutional duties she has faithfully performed for the last 17 years. I hope all senators will join together as we did when we considered President Reagan’s nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court and voted unanimously to confirm her.

“My review of her judicial record leads me to conclude that she is a careful and restrained judge with a deep respect for judicial precedent and for the powers of the other branches of the government, including the lawmaking role of Congress,” Leahy said.

“That conclusion is supported by a number of independent studies that have been made of her record and shines through in a comprehensive review of her tough and fair record on criminal cases. She has a deep understanding of the real lives of Americans, the duty of law enforcement to help keep Americans safe and the responsibilities of all to respect the freedoms that define America.”

“Unfortunately, some have sought to twist her words and her record and to engage in partisan political attacks,” Leahy said. “Ideological pressure groups have attacked her before the president had even made his selection. They then stepped up their attacks by threatening Republican senators who do not oppose her.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the committee, is now giving his remarks, predictably tougher on the nominee than Leahy’s. “I believe our legal system is at a dangerous crossroads,” Sessions said.

“I will not vote for — no senator should vote for -- an individual nominated by any president who is not fully committed to fairness and impartiality toward every person who appears before them,” Sessions said.

He said he would not support a nominee “who believes it is acceptable for a judge to allow their personal background, gender, prejudices to sway their decision in favor of, or against, parties before the court,” he said.

Senators are expected to fill the bulk of the morning and perhaps go into the afternoon with their opening statements.

-- James Oliphant

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