Sotomayor Hearings, Day One: "Fidelity To The Law"

With two simple words -- "I do" -- Judge Sonia Sotomayor's week-long odyssey through the Senate Judiciary Cmte began today, as she was sworn in for her SCOTUS confirmation hearing.

But the tone of the hearing was set by the 19 Sens. -- 12 Dems and 7 GOPers -- who spoke earlier in the day. Sotomayor sat patiently facing the dais throughout their speeches. She placed her palms down on the table in front of her. And she did not speak. Under the witness table, her broken ankle was elevated.

Dems praised her judicial record and touted her life's journey as an American story, while GOPers criticized her speeches, specifically her remark that a Latina woman would have better judgment than a white man, and past rulings.

Judiciary Cmte Chair Pat Leahy (D-VT) called the hearing to order two minutes before 10 a.m., and after a brief statement, cmte members delivered 10-minute speeches, alternating between parties according to seniority.

The Main Event

Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) outlined the crux of the GOP's case against Sotomayor -- that her statements and decisions reveal a partiality that makes her unfit to serve.

"I want to be clear," Sessions said, "I will not vote for -- no senator should vote for -- and individual nominated by any President who is not fully committed to fairness and impartiality towards every person who appears before them."

Sessions pointed to statements Sotomayor has made about her judicial philosophy, including her assertion in a '01 speech that "a wise Latina woman" would come to a better conclusion than others. "I think it is noteworthy that ... President Obama, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg declined to defend the substance of the nominee's remarks," said Sessions. "They each assumed that the nominee misspoke. But the nominee did not misspeak. She is on the record making this statement at least five times over the course of a decade."

Sotomayor addressed this comment briefly in her opening remarks, though she is certain to face a great number of questions about this issue in the coming days.

"In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy," she said. "It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law -- it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress's intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand."

Other Sidebars

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) described the SCOTUS as a body that "has often veered off the course established by the framers." Cornyn alleged that the nation's highest court "has invented new rights not clearly rooted in any constitutional text," citing its rulings on death penalty cases, gun rights and eminent domain. Cornyn told Sotomayor that some of her opinions "suggest that you would limit some of our basic constitutional rights -- and some of your public statements suggest that you would invent rights that do not exist in our written Constitution."

Senate Min. Whip Jon Kyl targeted Pres. Obama, saying he "is simply outside the mainstream in his statements about how judges should decide cases."

"The question for the committee is whether Judge Sotomayor agrees with President Obama's theory of judging or whether she will faithfully interpret the laws and Constitution and take seriously the oath of her prospective office," he added.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) reminded the cmte that as a Sen. Obama opposed Bush admin. judicial appointees, including CJ John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and DC Circuit Court Judge Janice Rogers Brown.

Going Off-Script

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who appeared to speak without prepared remarks, began by telling Sotomayor, "No Republican would have nominated you."

He then made a prediction that stood in contrast to some of the stronger statements from his GOP colleagues. "Unless you have a complete meltdown," he said, "you're gonna get confirmed."

And Graham even left open the possibility that he could vote in favor of her nomination, "I don't think anyone here worked harder for Senator McCain than I did. But we lost, and President Obama won. And that ought to matter. It does to me. ... I don't know how I'm gonna vote, but my inclination is, elections matter."

Welcome To The Club

The last two sens. to speak were Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), who only a few months ago was ranking member of the cmte prior to his party switch, and newly-minted Sen. Al Franken (D-MN). Franken was perhaps most notable in his attempt to reach out to his new colleagues.

"To all the members of this committee, I know that I have a lot to learn from each of you," Franken said near the outset of his remarks. "As most of you know, this is my fifth day in office. That may mean that I am the most junior Senator, but it also means that I am the Senator who has most recently taken the oath of office. ... I take this oath very seriously as we consider Judge Sotomayor's nomination."

Gaffe Of The Day

After each of the 18 members of the cmte, Sotomayor was introduced by homestate Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who choked up visibly, and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who was the only Sen. to speak today who was not a member of the cmte. During her introduction of Sotomayor, Gillibrand exceeded the five minutes Leahy granted her and was forced to omit two paragraphs from her prepared statement. She also refered to Justice Antonin Scalia as "Anthony."

Notably, the White House press office was forced to send a second copy of Sotomayor's prepared remarks to reporters after the first misspelled the last name of the junior sen. from the Empire State. "I also want to thank Senators Schumer and Gillebrand for that kind introduction," it read.

Order To Appear

The cmte will reconvene 7/14 at 9:30 a.m. Each lawmaker will get 30 minutes during the first round of questioning.

(STEVEN SHEPARD)