Do You Expect to Learn Anything From the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings?
Endorsements and protests of Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor are pouring in as Senators ready their opening statements and strategic questions for the woman who President Barack Obama has chosen to replace retired Justice David H. Souter.
The hearings, which tend to run between four and five days, are rare enough that they will be a spectacle even if you buy Tom Goldstein’s argument that “it’s all over but the swearing in.” Note: We’ll provide gavel to gavel highlights from the hearings and snippets from the blogosphere here at ABAJournal.com.
All this lead up and political posturing got us to wondering about the actual value of these hearings. Has the process evaporated into a vapid TV presentation? Or is there still value to be found? For many Americans, this may be the only chance to see Sotomayor in action, albeit a well-rehearsed version of herself.
So tell us…
What, if anything, do you expect to learn from the hearings? And what, if anything, would you do to improve the confirmation process?
Answer in the comments below.
Read answers to last week’s question: “Briefs and Oral Arguments: What’s Worst of the Worst?”
Featured answer:
Excerpted from Raleigh: “My personal favorite is when an attorney uses ‘clearly’ in a Brief. In my first read, I always circle it and focus my attention there, because almost invariably it is a red flag that the drafter thinks their own argument is weak and that they needed a persuasive adverb to get that argument over the threshold.”
