Six Things to Watch at Sotomayor Hearings

Sessions grills Supreme Court nominee over military controversy

(NEWSER) - Elena Kagan began today’s round of confirmation questioning by declaring that it would be inappropriate for her to discuss how she might rule on future Supreme Court cases. That's ironic, the New York Times notes, because Kagan once wrote that confirmation hearings had taken on “an air of vacuity and farce”—because nominees wouldn’t discuss their views. She said Orrin Hatch counseled her to revise her view and be more cautious. More»

Confirmation hearings must focus on big picture

(NEWSER) - The process Elena Kagan once derided as a "vapid and hollow charade" gets under way tomorrow when the solicitor general appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee as President Obama's second Supreme Court nominee. "Instead of playing cat-and-mouse with the nominee about how she would rule in future cases, senators should think big," the Los Angeles Times editorial board counsels. Specific questions to ask:

• Is the high court more like an umpire or an empathetic decision-maker?

Repeated calls to Holder to appoint special prosecutor

(NEWSER) - Republicans are calling for the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Sestak's claims that someone in the Obama administration offered him a high-ranking job to drop out of the Pennsylvania primary race against Arlen Specter. And they've already used the “I” word. “It's very clear that allegation is one that everyone from Arlen Specter to Dick Morris has said is in fact a crime, and could be impeachable,” Rep. Darrel Issa tells Fox News . More»

Tradition sees justices sticking with party that appointed them

(NEWSER) - Supreme Court justices have traditionally waited to retire until a member of the same party that nominated them held the presidency, writes Kate Klonick for True/Slant. The custom has prevailed even when the justice’s ideology drifted away from that party. But if the rumors about John Paul Stevens’ imminent retirement are true, the Obama presidency may signal a new trend in “activist” retirement. More»

Republicans feel they have dealt a blow to judicial empathy

(NEWSER) - Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn in to the Supreme Court on national television tomorrow morning, marking the first time the judicial oath administration has been broadcast, the Washington Post reports. The ceremony will take place at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, following the practice of Samuel Alito, who broke a tradition of taking the oaths at the White House. More»