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Sure Sotomayor Is Tough—as She Should Be

Arguing a case before her isn't fun, but that's not a bad thing

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 10, 2009 9:13 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Sonia Sotomayor may be a self-proclaimed “bear on the bench,” but the critics saying she's too harsh are way off base, writes constitutional lawyer Floyd Abrams in the Wall Street Journal. Abrams has argued multiple cases before Sotomayor. “Her questions are tough and fair, demanding and acute. One could say worse things about a judge.”

In two First Amendment cases that went before her court, Abrams admits that Sodomayor's questions homed in relentlessly on the weaknesses in his argument. He found himself admitting, to himself, in one case, that his argument might be "too extreme," and to the court, in another, that his client didn't actually need the injunction it was seeking. “Hardball questioning of both sides,” Abrams argues, is “precisely what good judges do.”

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor awaits her first senatorial meeting of the day, Tuesday, June 23, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor awaits her first senatorial meeting of the day, Tuesday, June 23, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington.   (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor smiles during her meeting with Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, July 9, 2009.
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor smiles during her meeting with Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, July 9, 2009.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
You do not want to be questioned by this woman, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
You do not want to be questioned by this woman, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
NotEvsie
Jul 10, 2009 3:17 AM CDT
Is there actually any real doubt that she'll be confirmed?

 
Rudy Giuliani • censorship • judge • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor • 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

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