In a speech from the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky today announced the GOP’s “guiding principles” for the confirmation hearings of President Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
The senator’s call for the hearings to be “respectful” but not “rushed” recalls the statement made by Americans United for Life (AUL) President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest early last month amid indications that President Obama sought to “fast-track” the nomination. He also raises the same concerns raised by AUL and many others about the need to get clear answers about certain questionable statements and decisions Judge Sotomayor made in the past.
Some highlights from McConnell’s speech:
… some of Judge Sotomayor’s past statements and decisions have raised some understandable questions and concerns. One of these is a statement she made a few years back that the Court of Appeals is, quote, ‘Where policy is made.’ I think that’s a tough statement to square with Article III of the U.S. Constitution, which clearly contemplates a far more limited role for federal judges, and I suspect that a number of us over here in the Legislative Branch will want to ask Judge Sotomayor questions about that statement.
The reason is simple. I think most Americans would agree that the courtroom is not an appropriate place to exercise one’s political beliefs or personal preferences. As far as most of us are concerned, politics ends at the courthouse door. The courtroom is where you go to get a fair and even-handed reading of the law, regardless of who you are or where you came from or who you voted for. Legislators make the laws, not judges. Most people understand that and place a high value on it. And the last time Judge Sotomayor came before the Senate for confirmation, I voted against her nomination precisely out of a concern that she’d bring pre-existing personal and political beliefs into the courtroom.
Many of the same concerns I had about Judge Sotomayor eleven years ago persist. But a fresh review of her record has now begun; and, as I said, Republicans will insist that the confirmation process for Judge Sotomayor is conducted in a fair and professional manner. This is the way Republicans have treated judicial nominees in the past, and this is the way we will continue to treat them: with respect.
But respectful doesn’t mean rushed. Judge Sotomayor has a long record, and it will take a long time to get through it. She’s served 17 years on both the trial and the appellate court. She’s been involved in more than 3,600 cases since becoming a judge. In order to conduct a thorough examination of all these cases, it’s vital that the Senate have sufficient time to do so.
Read the entire speech on Sen. McConnell’s Web site.
