Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor begin Monday morning at 10 AM.
Correspondents Andrew Kilberg and Alexandra Cahill are live-blogging Day 1’s hearings.
Live video of the hearings is available here.
Alexandra Cahill: We’ll resume a few minutes before 9:30 am tomorrow. 3:09 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Thanks for reading! We’ll be back tomorrow morning to cover the questioning, which should be more interesting than today’s statements.
Two important things to take away from today:
1. Sen. Graham’s assertion that Sotomayor’s nomination will pass.
2. The Democrats kept a united front, stressing that they believe in “separation of powers” and claiming that they’re for “judicial restraint” over “judicial activism.” The Dems aren’t going to let the committee’s few Republicans define what it means to be a good Supreme Court justice. 3:07 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Hearings will resume tomorrow — members of the committee will question Sotomayor for up to a half hour each. 3:03 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Simple, strong, uncontroversial statement. 3:02 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sotomayor: “Task of a judge is not to make the law, it is to apply the law.” 3:00 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sotomayor mentions she was nominated by President George H.W. Bush. So was Souter. 2:58 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Princeton shout-out! Represent! 2:57 pm
Alexandra Cahill: The Daily Kos has Sotomayor’s statement here. 2:57 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sotomayor lost her father when she was 9 years old. 2:56 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Did Gillibrand just say “Anthony Scalia”? That’s what it sounded like. It’s Antonin Scalia. 2:52 pm
Andrew Kilberg: OK, enough is enough. Sen. Gillibrand, shhh. 2:51 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Gillibrand’s jacket is reflecting the light. 2:47 pm
Alexandra Cahill: She’s getting two 5 minute introductions from Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand of New York — Sotomayor’s home state. 2:42 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Almost Sotomayor time. 2:40 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Franken says he’s in favor of “judicial restraint” over “judicial activism.” Seems all the Democrats got the memo except Sen. Whitehouse. 2:37 pm
Alexandra Cahill: It’s interesting that there have been three disturbances so far regarding abortion — Sotomayor has yet to rule in a manner that clearly expresses her position on the issue. Maybe this will come up in the questioning tomorrow? 2:36 pm
Andrew Kilberg: ANOTHER protester. 2:33 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Here comes Al!!! 2:30 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Specter wants to see the court televised. 2:30 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Specter is a grad of Yale Law School (class of 1956 I believe) and he was chair of the Judiciary Committee back when he was a Republican. He knows these issues very well. And how to manipulate them, if he wants. 2:30 pm
Andrew Kilberg: OK, that was a little harsh. To his credit, Specter is going into great depth in talking about “judges responsibilities” in relation to specific cases. Still, it strikes me that he’s picking cases carefully — his comments on which can be used in his primary campaign against Sestak. 2:26 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Paging Sen. Specter. Paging Sen. Specter. This is a SCOTUS nomination hearing, not your reelection primary campaign against Joe Sestak. 2:25 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Specter gets in a dig at Bush over wiretapping. Good Democrat. Here’s a bone. 2:22 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Fun Facts: Specter chaired the confirmation hearings for Chief Justice Roberts in 2005 as a member of the Republican Party. Every “nay” in the 78-22 vote for Roberts’ confirmation came from Democrats. 2:21 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Specter’s up. 2:20 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Kaufman: a diverse court will come to a better conclusion. 2:18 pm
Andrew Kilberg: The Court is not diverse enough for Sen. Kaufman. 2:17 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Sen. Kaufman (D-Del.), speaking now, was a former aide for Joe Biden and replaced him in the Senate this year. While he worked for Biden, Kaufman helped prepare for 11 Supreme Court confirmations. 2:12 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Klobuchar mentioned the SCOTUS’ opinion in the Redding case about school strip searches. D.C. Writeup correspondent Claire Carroll wrote about the case before the SCOTUS ruled. The opinion, written by Justice Souter, can be viewed here. Sotomayor would fill Souter’s seat. 2:12 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Sen. Klobuchar, props on being the first to play the gender card: The women who came before you to be considered by this Committee helped blaze a trail, and although your record stands on its own, you are also standing on their shoulders – another woman with an opportunity to be a Justice “for all of us.” 2:10 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is listing her favorite SCOTUS justices. Do they make SCOTUS trading cards? I know they make SCOTUS bobblehead dolls. 2:05 pm
Alexandra Cahill: The two abortion protesters from this morning were arrested by the Capitol police. 2:02 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Specter and Franken are chit-chatting while photographers crowd around. Symbolic of the state of Congress. 2:00 pm
Andrew Kilberg: In his statement, Sen. Graham implied that he would vote for Sotomayor. As Sen. Grassley said on Fox News earlier, barring some kind of major misstep during her testimony, the Senate will confirm Sotomayor. It looks like some Republicans will vote for her — a symbolic return to the mythical days before politicized judicial appointments. And when were those days, exactly? I’m too young to remember them.
Anyways, Graham said, “We’ve got a chance to start over.” This week we will see how that goes. 12:59 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Recess for lunch until 2 pm. Four senators left to go, then Sotomayor. Finally. 12:39 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Sotomayor on abortion. 12:39 pm
Alexandra Cahill: She’s probably still thinking about Sen. Coburn — watch out for that guy. 12:38 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Alexandra, what do you think Sotomayor’s thinking? It can’t be fun just sitting there. 12:36 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Another abortion protester! Seriously, guys. This doesn’t help. You look crazy. This is a hearing of the United States Senate on the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice. These protesters are classless. 12:33 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Sen. Durbin (D-IL) voted against both Roberts and Alito. 12:32 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Coburn mentioned “balls and strikes” and “empathy.” One more strike and you’re outta here, Senator. Heh. 12:29 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Journalists are tweeting the hearings (and MSNBC’s feed of the hearing). 12:28 pm
Andrew Kilberg: This feels like the FBI warnings before a movie. Sotomayor’s opening statement will be the opening salvo, and the questioning of Sotomayor and witnesses (Ricci!) will be the true meat. 12:26 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Coburn notes that this isn’t Justice Roberts’ hearing. I agree — let’s move onto a new metaphor. How about basketball? Soccer? Anything but baseball? 12:22 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Fox News’ sidebar notes that Sen. Coburn has survived cancer twice. 12:21 pm
Alexandra Cahill: He actually brought up empathy three times. 12:20 pm
Andrew Kilberg: I wonder if Whitehouse is helping Sotomayor with this statement. 12:20 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Whitehouse: “I believe that your diverse life experience… will enrich your judgment as a Supreme Court justice.” And he brings up “empathy.” 12:18 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Justice Roberts from his confirmation hearing: “Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules; they apply them.
“The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules.
“But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire.”
Full text here. 12:15 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) brings up the baseball metaphor AGAIN. Justice Roberts, why did you have to use it in your hearing back in 2005? 12:13 pm
Alexandra Cahill: 36% of Texas’ population is Hispanic.
12:11 pm
Andrew Kilberg: I like Cornyn’s statement so far. The decision to bring up eminent domain is politically smart — the SCOTUS’ Kelo v. New London decision was nationally unpopular. 12:09 pm
Alexandra Cahill: Sen. Cornyn has a daily question for Sotomayor up on his site. 12:04 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Cornyn says that the Framers intended the rights enumerated in the Constitution to be “fixed,” not “floating in the ether.” Cornyn’s doing what he said he would do: use the Sotomayor hearings as a vehicle to teach conservative judicial philosophy. 12:03 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Leahy’s back and has introduced Sen. Cornyn (R-Texas). 12:00 pm
Andrew Kilberg: Again, copies of senators’ statements can be found here. 11:59 am
Alexandra Cahill: Fox News’ Megyn Kelly and Sonia Sotomayor are wearing the same outfit. Coincidence? 11:54 am
TEN MINUTE BREAK 11:44 am
Alexandra Cahill: Everyone needs a 10 minute break after Sen. Cardin’s statements. 11:43 am
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Cardin (D-MD) thanks Judge Sotomayor’s family. Thanks for that. BREAKING: Sen. Cardin is pro-family. 11:43 am
Andrew Kilberg: The Democrats are all making a point of noting the importance of separation of powers. Looks like a concerted effort to fight the “”judicial activist” moniker. 11:41 am
Andrew Kilberg: Copies of the senators’ statements can be found here. 11:37 am
Andrew Kilberg: Leahy and Graham are disputing the history of the Democratic filibusters of Estrada. 11:33 am
Alexandra Cahill: Maybe that has something to do with the grimace of Sotomayor’s face? I can’t tell if she’s about to cry, or if she needs more pain meds for the ankle. 11:33 am
Andrew Kilberg: I’ve been perusing photos of previous hearings. It strikes me that this hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building is fairly dark. They don’t have many (if any) windows in the Hart rooms. Makes these opening remarks seem even sleepier. 11:31 am
Alexandra Cahill: Graham: “I think your experience can add a lot to the court but I don’t think it makes you better than anyone else.” Sen. Graham’s the most entertaining—honest, harsh, right to the point. 11:28 am
Alexandra Cahill: Graham also said “no Republican would have chosen you.” 11:25 am
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) brings up Estrada. 11:23 am
Andrew Kilberg: Great profile of Sens. Schumer and Dick Durbin bunking together with Reps. George Miller and Delahunt. 11:22 am
Alexandra Cahill: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voted against both John Roberts and Sam Alito — Schumer’s speaking now. 11:19 am
Alexandra Cahill: The Senate Judiciary Committee is chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Ver.) and is made up of 12 Democrats, including the newest member of the Senate, Al Franken (D-Minn.), and 7 Republicans. The full list of committee members is available here. 11:15 am
Andrew Kilberg: 25 Republicans voted for Sotomayor in 1998. Of the current GOPers on the Judiciary Committee, only Sen. Hatch voted for her. Sens. Grassley, Kyl, and Sessions voted nay. Sens. Graham, Cornyn, and Coburn were not yet elected to the Senate. No Democrats voted nay. 11:08 am
Andrew Kilberg: Dem Sen. Russ Feingold of Wiconsin voted for Sotomayor in 1998. See full vote list here. 11:03 am
Alexandra Cahill: GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa (speaking now) voted against Sotomayor’s nomination to the Court of Appeals back in 1998. 10:59 am
Andrew Kilberg: Fox News is reporting that the man who yelled out in the hearing shouted, “What about abortion, Senator?” This just makes conservatives look bad. Let Code Pink protest hearings, and leave the questioning of Judge Sotomayor to the senators, whose duty it is to advise and consent on the President’s nomination. 10:55 am
Andrew Kilberg: I feel badly for Judge Sotomayor. She has to sit there and listen to all this, knowing this is being broadcasted nationally, all this with a broken ankle. Pressure. 10:52 am
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is mouthing the White House prep document… I couldn’t hear the specifics of the outburst from the back of the hearing room. Anyone know what was said? 10:46 am
Andrew Kilberg: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) brings in the Democrats’ filibustering of George W. Bush’s nominees over the previous 8 years. Everyone should keep in mind Miguel Estrada, whom the Democrats filibustered repeatedly, claiming erroneously that he was an ideological radical. Bush nominated Estrada to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, a position which is often a stepping stone to the Supreme Court. Senate Democrats rightly noticed that Bush was positioning Estrada for an eventual SCOTUS nomination—most likely the spot Justice Samuel Alito now occupies. The donkeys did not want to fight Estrada on the SCOTUS level (he would have been the first Hispanic nominated to the court). 10:44 am
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