More on Sessions/Sotomayor

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: May 28, 2009

Mary Orndorff of the Birmingham News has more from U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and his comment that her nomination deserves “a fresh start.“

You might remember that I pointed out a similar phrase—“a new hearing”—from Sessions’ remarks on Tuesday, when President Obama made Sotomayor’s nomination official.

Sessions says that over the next few weeks, he will be reviewing the transcripts of the 1997 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in which Sotomayor was vetted before being confirmed to the federal appeals court.

Sessions voted against Sotomayor on committee, and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby joined him in opposing her confirmation on the floor.

We are all still learning about Sotomayor and her views on the Constitution and jurisprudence. But I feel comfortable in saying this: Among the things I’m least concerned about is whether she stood for Justice Clarence Thomas’s introduction when he appeared at a conference she attended.

There are plenty of important things to talk about. For example, The New York Times had this piece yesterday that discussed the efforts NARAL is taking to ensure that Sotomayor’s views on privacy are vetted in the confirmation hearings. Apparently, NARAL—one of the nation’s most active abortion-rights organizations—and conservatives agree: They don’t know enough about where she stands on abortion. The Times story details some of Sotomayor’s abortion-related rulings. Take the time to read the article. Her record isn’t what you might think.

In addition, Sotomayor sided with the City of New Haven, Conn., when it threw out a promotions test because no minorities passed it (though, at least some observers are wondering why she “punted” by simply agreeing with the decision without comment and not taking on the difficult issues involved in the case). (You might remember that I covered that case in a recent column and on this blog.) As we know, the Supreme Court heard arguments in that case last month; given the timelines for the Court’s decision on that matter and Sotomayor’s expected confirmation hearings, there is at least an outside chance that the Court could rule on that case while Sotomayor is before the Judiciary Committee.

I think her hearing are going to be must-see TV.