Sotomayor: 'It is clear from the attention that my words have gotten . . . that my words failed. They didn't work.'

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

BARACK OBAMA

After answering questions from eleven senators yesterday, Judge Sonia Sotomayor will take questions from the other eight senators on the committee today. Once that is complete, she and the senators will meet in a brief closed-door session; after that, each senator has an opportunity to ask questions for another 20 minutes. Chairman Leahy says that some senators have indicated they do not plan on using on the full 20 minutes.

Based on that, it seems there's a slim possibility she will be finished today, but it's more likely she faces a fourth day of questioning. In their respective confirmation hearings, Justices Roberts, Alito, and Ginsburg all had four days of hearings; Breyer was finished in three.

Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) begins by asking about the "wise Latina" comments again, and to clarify an earlier comment that her statement "didn't make sense." Sotomayor replies that because wise judges can disagree on the right decision, it's inaccurate to argue literally that a wise old man and a wise old woman would reach the same wise conclusion all the time. Cornyn reminds her of her previous comment

Sotomayor: "It is clear from the attention that my words have gotten, and from the reaction that they have generated, that my words failed. They didn't work."

07/15 09:36 AM Share