A project tracking federal judicial nominations and courts.
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 Editorials and Opinion
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Editorial: The Sotomayor Nomination (New York Times, 07/20/09)
"As the Senate prepares to act on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, it has learned more than enough about her qualifications to give her a seat on the court. ... At times, she too willingly ceded ground to her conservative questioners. We wish she had spoken out forthrightly in favor of empathy, a quality President Obama has said he is looking for in his judicial nominees. We would have liked to hear her boldly defend the idea of the Constitution as a living document, one that changes with the times. And we would have preferred if she had used the hearings to explain to the public that the much-mentioned distinction between judges making and applying the law has little meaning.
That, however, is not what judicial confirmation hearings are now about.:
Editorial: Confirm Sotomayor (Boston Globe, 07/20/09)
"the hearings did nothing to undermine - and much to underscore - the notion that Sotomayor has the right temperament, intellect, and credentials for the Supreme Court. She should be confirmed."
Editorial: Sotomayor biased? It's a bogus charge (Sacramento Bee [CA] , 07/20/09)
"critics say her decision in the case proves she is biased and unfit for the highest court in the land.
Nonsense. At its heart, the New Haven lawsuit was about the validity of a highly questionable written test."
Editorial: Sonia Sotomayor is ready for the Supreme Court (St. Louis Post-Dispatch [MO] , 07/19/09)
"History will show that Sonia Sotomayor would become the first person of Hispanic heritage to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court and only the third woman. But regardless of heritage or gender, what is most important is that Sotomayor is amply qualified to serve as the court's 111th justice.
If there had been any doubt, Sotomayor erased them last week in hearings"
Editorial: A wise Latina justice for the Supreme Court (Oregonian, 07/19/09)
"Sonia Sotomayor will be and should be confirmed early next month as the first Latina justice on the nation's highest court.
She will be confirmed because she held her own, and then some, during four days of grueling, sometimes demeaning questioning last week by Republican critics on the Senate Judiciary Committee."
Our View - Empathy is an essential part of a judge's role (Iowa City Press-Citizen, 07/19/09)
"The Republican senators seemed to imply that judges should be robots -- or in Chief Justice John Roberts' overused phrase, "umpires" -- that mechanistically evaluate cases based on the specific instructions and parameters provided by Congress. But the instructions provided too often prove to be either contradictory or insufficiently specific. A robot can't evaluate how broad Constitutional phrases such as "freedom of speech" should apply to issues ranging from pornography to schools monitoring students' Facebook accounts. And lawmakers themselves often disagree on the intent behind a law.... And no robot could provide assurance to Lindsay Graham and his supporters that she both understands and can empathize with their fears."
Editorial: Sonia Sotomayor is ready for the Supreme Court (Spring Hope Enterprise [NC], 07/19/09)
"Ms. Sotomayor is amply qualified to serve as the court's 111th justice.
If there had been any doubt, Ms. Sotomayor erased them last week in hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee....We supported Mr. Roberts' nomination, but had reservations about Mr. Alito's extreme positions.
Ms. Sotomayor's record is impeccable and puts her squarely in the mainstream. She deserves prompt confirmation."
Editorial: Sotomayor hearings; Republicans missed opportunity (Durango Herarld [CO] , 07/19/09)
"The Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor presented everyone in Washington, D.C. - and every American - with a rare opportunity to get to know a uniquely qualified and uniquely positioned candidate who brings a broad background and collection of experiences to the nation's highest court....Republicans who are trying to find flaws with Sotomayor are focusing their fire on things that are relevant only in what they say about those asking the questions."
Editorial: Verdict on Sotomayor (Los Angeles Times, 07/19/09)
" It matters, at this point in U.S. history, that Sotomayor is also (in words that have haunted her) a "wise Latina” -- that is, a woman and a member of a minority whose increasing numbers have been accompanied in many parts of the country by hostility and discrimination. ...Given her record as a judge and her mainstream constitutional views, Sotomayor is entitled to a similarly lopsided "yes"vote. If she falls short of overwhelming confirmation, it will be because of the extreme politicization of judicial selection,"
Editorial: Confirm Sonia Sotomayor (Washington Post, 07/19/09)
"AFTER FOUR days of often intense confirmation hearings, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor proved herself well-qualified and worthy of confirmation.... life experiences do matter in fairly and thoroughly assessing different situations -- from the impact of regulation on business to the effect of a strip search on a 13-year-old girl to the damage done by discrimination in all facets of life. The key -- as Judge Sotomayor explained and seems to have demonstrated in her life's work -- is never to allow personal prejudices or preferences to trump the clear commands of the law."
EDITORIAL: Sotomayor delivers strong performance (Austin American-Statesman [TX] , 07/18/09)
Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Senate's senior Republican, pronounced Sotomayor "clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court," a conclusion easily reached by anybody who watched her even-keeled performance. ...GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both of whom aggressively questioned Sotomayor at the hearing, have declared her judicial record "mainstream."
That, combined with a solid 17-year record on the federal bench, makes Sotomayor a good choice for the job.
Editorial: Confirm Sotomayor (Berkshire Eagle [MA] , 07/17/09)
"Her integrity and respect for the law will be welcome on a court whose majority is too given to judicial activism."
Editorial: A vote for Sotomayor (Philadelphia Inquirer [PA], 07/17/09)
"After four days of hearings, Judge Sonia Sotomayor has shown she is qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court....The Senate should vote to confirm her."
Editorial: Sotomayor deserves confirmation (Dallas Morning News, 07/17/09)
"After days of grilling — some of it monotonous and some spirited — Sonia Sotomayor has proven herself worthy of the Supreme Court’s black robe....Sonia Sotomayor has the legal and intellectual depth to serve well, and we support her confirmation."
Editorial: Confirm Sotomayor; Nothing in the hearings or in her record has emerged to disqualify this supremely qualified nominee. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [WI], 07/17/09)
"Sotomayor is a superb choice.... It's clear from her record and her answers that Sotomayor is a judge with a reverence for the law and the Constitution, albeit one who also can understand the consequences of rulings. This makes her a better nominee, not a lesser one.
Critics sought to equate empathy and bias. But from their stilted definitions, it appears that only women and minority nominees can be influenced by who they are and their life experiences. Sotomayor made it clear, in any case, that the law is her compass.
We urge Wisconsin's two senators to vote for Sotomayor"
Editorial: Sotomayor has solid experience (San Antonio Express-News [TX] , 07/16/09)
"Sotomayor is a highly qualified judge well within the mainstream of American jurisprudence. President Barack Obama has put forward a compelling nominee who deserves confirmation on the merits ... Sotomayor is eminently qualified to serve on the Supreme Court."
Editorial: Assess Sotomayor on record, not just words; Obama nominee's deliberate approach to the law impresses. (Charlotte Observer [NC] , 07/15/09)
"After two days of televised hearings into the fitness of Sonia Sotomayor to be a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, a picture has emerged of an appellate judge with a patient, attentive, analytical approach to the law. ... Most reasonable people understand that a judge's background and life experience inform and provide a basis for viewing issues that come before them. That's natural. But to pretend those factors could be shunted aside and that a case could be considered only in a vacuum is unrealistic. What the public expects is that appellate judges will put personal biases aside, examine the law and the precedents, and make a reasoned interpretation based on their understanding of the rule of law....With her careful explanations of the law and how she approaches legal questions, she has reinforced the fact that she has more and broader experience than almost all the current justices had when they were confirmed. As she has worked her way through some tough questions from senators, Sotomayor so far has affirmed President Obama's confidence in nominating her for the Supreme Court."
Editorial: Spare Sotomayor the partisan mud (News Tribune [WA] , 07/15/09)
"In some cases, there’s no one, objective, indisputable way to construe the language of the Constitution.
Such phrases as “equal protection,” “due process” and “cruel and unusual,” are open-ended by design. They allow fundamental constitutional principles to be applied under changing circumstances. ...Republicans do themselves no favors by perpetuating purely ideological or partisan opposition to nominations."
Editorial: In hearings, Sotomayor rises above the fray (San Francisco Chronicle [CA] , 07/15/09)
"her overall impression as a careful and thoughtful jurist seemed to make her a lock for the high court after the second day of Senate quizzing.... Sotomayor did a persuasive job in explaining her record - and answering sharp questions about her thinking."
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