Supreme Court Nominations

C-SPAN Tests Public’s Supreme Court IQ

C-SPAN yesterday released results of a poll aimed at determining what Americans know about the highest court in the land. Not surprisingly, while many of those polled couldn’t come up with Sonia Sotomayor as the name of President Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court pick, two-thirds of poll respondents knew she could…

Jul 10, 2009 8:00 PM CDT

Long Hours and Hard Work Took a Toll on Sotomayor’s Relationships

Hard work is a theme running through the life of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, work so demanding that the federal appeals judge has acknowledged its toll on her personal life. “Often, friends say this image lingers in their mind’s eye: Ms. Sotomayor poring over law books and legal…

Jul 10, 2009 12:15 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s Nomination: Today’s News

New York Times: “To Get to Sotomayor’s Core, Start in New York” Wall Street Journal: “Some Clinton-Era Sotomayor Materials Withheld” USA Today: “Hispanics have eye on GOP senators’ Sotomayor vote” ABAJournal.com: “Blogger Says GOP Questioned Him About Sotomayor’s Solo Practice” ABAJournal.com: “Witnesses Line Up to Testify at Sotomayor Hearings” Politico:…

Jul 10, 2009 2:45 AM CDT

Blogger Says GOP Questioned Him About Sotomayor’s Solo Practice

A blogger who wrote about a potential ethics issue connected to Sonia Sotomayor’s solo law practice says he has been questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s minority legal staff as they prepare for hearings next week on the federal appeals judge’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Blogger Eric Turkewitz…

Jul 9, 2009 6:55 PM CDT

Witnesses Line Up to Testify at Sotomayor Hearings

Sonia Sotomayor will make her opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday as it begins its first day of hearings on her nomination to replace retired Justice David H. Souter. Sotomayor received a unanimous rating of “well-qualified” from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary based on…

Jul 9, 2009 4:40 PM CDT

Ginsburg Defends Sotomayor, Calls ‘Wise Latina’ Flap Ridiculous

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks it’s ridiculous for critics to make a big deal about the “wise Latina” comment by Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appeals judge nominated to join Ginsburg as a second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. In a New York Times interview, Ginsburg delved into the…

Jul 9, 2009 11:56 AM CDT

Sotomayor’s Nomination: Today’s News

ABAJournal.com: “Law Prof Backing Sotomayor Offers Explanation for Short Ricci Opinion” ABAJournal.com: “Study: Sotomayor Not an ‘Outlier’ in 2nd Circuit Voting” CNN: “Analysis: Sotomayor quietly prepares for hearings” The Ninth Justice: “Profs: Criminal Law Creds Are Safe And Strong” The Word on Employment Law with John Phillips: “Questions for Sotomayor”…

Jul 9, 2009 12:42 AM CDT

Study: Sotomayor Not an ‘Outlier’ in 2nd Circuit Voting

A study of the 1,194 rulings handed down by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals while Judge Sonia Sotomayor served aimed to show where the U.S. Supreme Court nominee fell on the bell curve. What did it find? “Far from being ‘extreme’ or an ‘outlier,’ Judge Sotomayor’s decision-making in…

Jul 9, 2009 12:40 AM CDT

Al Franken Had ‘SNL’ Role in Thomas’ Confirmation Hearings

Even though Al Franken has been a U.S. senator and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for barely a day, he’s only days away from helping to run hearings on the U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. And while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Franken “extremely…

Jul 8, 2009 9:02 PM CDT

Law Prof Backing Sotomayor Offers Explanation for Short Ricci Opinion

New York University law professor Arthur Miller has offered a possible explanation for a controversial short opinion joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor in which the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the city of New Haven, Conn., to throw out a fire department promotional exam because…

Jul 8, 2009 6:54 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s Nomination: Today’s News

ABAJournal.com: “ABA Committee Finds Sotomayor Well-Qualified in Unanimous Vote” ABAJournal.com: “Franken to Replace Lawyer on Senate Judiciary Committee” SCOTUSblog: “Reports on Judge Sotomayor’s Record” Associated Press: “Sotomayor critics step up rhetoric before hearing” The Ninth Justice: “White House Distributes Briefing Books” Legal Ethics Forum: “Sonia Sotomayor ‘and Associates’ “

Jul 7, 2009 11:09 PM CDT

Franken to Replace Lawyer on Senate Judiciary Committee

Al Franken, who was sworn in this morning as the junior senator from Minnesota, will be replacing Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who is a lawyer, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Wyden told the Portland Oregonian that he was assigned to the committee in January with the understanding that he would…

Jul 7, 2009 9:00 PM CDT

ABA Committee Finds Sotomayor Well-Qualified in Unanimous Vote

The ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has found Sonia Sotomayor well-qualified for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The vote was unanimous. The Associated Press has news of the rating, posted on the ABA website. The rating is based on Sotomayor’s integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.…

Jul 7, 2009 3:10 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s Nomination: Today’s News

Associated Press: “Colin Powell Attacks Critics of Sotomayor” Associated Press: “Analysis: GOP Struggles for anti-Sotomayor Message” Associated Press: “Group Sotomayor belonged to sued over job tests” Associated Press: “Sotomayor’s relatives hope to attend hearings” Bench Memos: “She’s ‘Conservatively Liberal’ And Pay No Attention to that Little Speech.” The Ninth Justice:…

Jul 6, 2009 10:49 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s Nomination: Today’s News

Agence France-Presse: “Sotomayor hearings: No weapons, clothing with profanity” Associated Press: “White House slams GOP document search on Sotomayor” CQ Politics: “White House Says GOP Request on Sotomayor ‘Not Relevant’” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (opinion): “Detractors to Obama’s high-court nominee pollute honest debate of Sotomayor’s record through distortion” Opening Arguments (Washington…

Jul 2, 2009 9:11 PM CDT