Hatch, Cornyn Get on GOP's Anti-Sotomayor Bandwagon

(AP) - Republicans cleared the way today for a Senate vote next month to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, placing her firmly in line to become the first Hispanic justice. "I look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August," said Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee. He spoke as Sotomayor neared the end of three grueling days in the committee's witness chair. More»

(NEWSER) - Senate Republicans locked arms against Sonia Sotomayor yesterday … or would have, if they’d bothered to stay for the Judiciary Committee’s vote. Instead, half ducked out, leaving Jeff Sessions to repeat “No by proxy,” over and over, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. It was an ugly display of partisanship—though, as Orrin Hatch pointed out, Democrats started it by opposing justices Roberts and Alito. More»

Dems go lightly; GOP eyes history outside of court

(NEWSER) - With Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation a virtual certainty and her appointment unlikely to change the direction of the Supreme Court, last week's toothless hearings held few surprises. Except, that is, for observers who were hoping the Senate Judiciary Committee would press for substantive Q-and-A, Joan Biskupic writes for USA Today. “I was dumbstruck by the fact that the GOP senators spent so little time trying to pin her down,” says a former high court clerk. More»

She's shown 'judicial temperament': statement

(NEWSER) - Richard Lugar said today he’ll back Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court bid, making him the first GOP senator to do so, the Washington Post reports. Mel Martinez of Florida, the chamber's sole Republican Latino, quickly followed suit. “Judge Sotomayor has demonstrated a judicial temperament during her week-long nomination hearing,” Lugar, an ally of President Obama's from his days in the Senate, said in a statement. Later in the day, Olympia Snowe of Maine climbed aboard. More»

Erratic record in state elections may arise in confirmation hearings

(NEWSER) - Sonia Sotomayor isn't much of a voter. She skipped multiple New York elections in the past decade, including three for state supreme court, reports NY1. The 2nd Circuit appeals judge failed to vote for governor in 2002 and 2006, and for court positions in 1995, 1999, and 2007. Sotomayor is not registered with any party and thus cannot vote in party primaries. She did vote in the 2008 general election, the one won by the guy who wants to put her on the Supreme Court. More»