July 13, 2009

The Sotomayor Hearings Begin

The highly-anticipated Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court began this morning at 10 AM. After Judge Sotomayor was invited to introduce her family, each of the nineteen Senators on the Committee offered ten minute opening statements, which usually serve to introduce a thematic frame for the rest of the hearing.

As predicted, the Democratic members of the Committee have portrayed Sotomayor as a qualified judge who will bring a wealth of experience to the Supreme Court, while Republican Senators have repeatedly emphasized their personal devotion to blind justice and expressed concerns over whether Judge Sotomayor would uphold the rule of law or, as some of her comments suggest, would give more weight to her own experiences and empathy toward certain parties.

The hearing can be viewed online at CNN.com Live.