Opinion: Sotomayor hearings: The Supreme Court nominee limps in
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Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina ever to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, limped into the Senate hearing room this morning, her now-familiar huge grin playing across her face. That is not a metaphor for her prospects, because she is expected to be handily confirmed for a spot on the high court. She limped because she has a cast on her right leg, having broken her ankle recently at an airport. Though some reports say she is in pain, she did not appear to be uncomfortable. She shook hands with various senators on the Judiciary Committee, as the committee’s chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), stood at her side. Five minutes before the hearing was to begin, she took her seat, and though it was not visible, CNN had shown earlier the contraption on which she’ll be resting her leg, which needs to stay elevated.
Leahy welcomed her to the committee, which will vote whether to recommend her to the full Senate, probably by the end of this week.
He asked her to introduce her family, and Sotomayor, whose voice has rarely been heard since the day in late May that President Obama nominated her for the high court, smiled and said, in a distinctly New York sounding voice: “If I introduced everyone who’s family, we’d be here all morning.”
Leahy invited her to introduce “whomever you like” and then said she could add anyone else to the official transcript later.
Judge Sotomayor first introduced her brother, Juan, then her mother, Celina. “Next to her is my favorite husband of my mom,” she added, as she introduced her stepfather, Omar Lopez.
-- Robin Abcarian
