Tuesday, July 14, 2009

BARACK OBAMA

Sessions to Sotomayor: What Do You Really Believe?

Sessions: "I liked your comment on the fidelity of the law yesterday, and if you had been saying that consistently for the past fifteen years, we would probably have fewer problems here today."

"It's not just one sentence that causes us difficulty, it's a body of thought over a period of many years."

He corrects Leahy for misquoting her "wise Latina" comment. He's well-prepared, and/or he's reading Bench Memos.

"I guess I'm asking today, what do you really believe on those subjects?"

Sotomayor: "I believe my record of 17 years makes clear that I believe that judges must apply the law and not make the law."

UPDATE: "What I mean is that we have to acknowledge those feelings and then put them aside . . . We're not robots who listen to evidence . . . We have to recognize those feelings and then make sure they're not influencing."

Sessions contends that what she's saying now is the opposite of what she said earlier.

Sotomayor: "There are some situations where experiences are important in the process of judging."

Sessions: "What you are saying today is quite different from your past statements that you 'willingly accept that we who judge must not deny the differences resulting from experience and heritage but attempt . . . continuously to judge when those opinions, sympathies and prejudices are appropriate.'"

Sotomayor insists she cannot ignore them and believe that she's not being influenced by them, and have something besides the law determine the outcome.

07/14 10:06 AMShare