Democrats Promote Sotomayor's 'Mainstream Record'; GOP Senators Seek More Documents

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 22 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday circulated talking points stating that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has a "mainstream record of judicial modesty," the AP/Miami Herald reports. The document includes a quote from Sotomayor expressing her belief in basing judicial decisions on the Constitution rather than on politics.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) also wrote to the president of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, formerly known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Educational Fund, requesting the quick disclosure of documents Sotomayor has requested in relation to her work with the group (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Miami Herald, 6/19). Sotomayor worked with the group from 1980 to 1992, assisting in a number of legal briefs and helping the group develop stances on public policy matters (Stanton, Roll Call, 6/18).

According to the AP/Herald, interest groups and members of both political parties are "competing to define" Sotomayor ahead of her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to begin July 13. Conservative groups have focused on labeling her an "activist" and singled out her involvement with PRLDEF as evidence of her support for abortion rights. The group sided with abortion-rights supporters in several major Supreme Court cases during Sotomayor's time on its board (AP/Miami Herald, 6/19).

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