Sotomayor Heads Toward Confirmation Hearings

Sotomayor, senators make nice -- for now1st headline L.A. Times — Judge Sonia Sotomayor sought to defuse the issue of race today as she met with top senators on both sides of the aisle, her first step to woo the people who will vote on whether she is confirmed to fill a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. For Sotomayor, it was a day of meeting with top lawmakers in the Capitol, especially those on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first hurdle in her campaign to move from the federal appellate circuit court to the nation's high court. click to read complete article

Sotomayor May Have Some Unlikely Allies on Gun Issue (Update3) Bloomberg — Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s best defense against firearms owners mobilizing to oppose her U.S. Supreme Court nomination may come from an unlikely source: two top conservatives on the federal bench. Sotomayor was labeled “anti-gun” by Gun Owners of America for refusing to extend to the states the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 decision overturning a Washington, D.C., handgun ban. The group said a January ruling by a three-judge panel that included Sotomayor displayed “pure judicial arrogance” for declining to throw out a New York state weapons law. click to read complete article

Majority of Americans Favor Sotomayor Confirmation Gallup — Americans are generally supportive of President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. A majority of Americans, 54%, say they would like to see the Senate confirm her to the Court, according to a May 29-31 USA Today/Gallup poll. Currently, 28% are against her confirmation and 19% have not yet formed an opinion. The level of support for Sotomayor is similar to what Gallup initially found for past nominees who were confirmed by the Senate, including Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Samuel Alito. Americans were slightly more positive toward John Roberts' nomination. click to read complete article