Sotomayor 1998 Versus Sotomayor 2009

by: robert.harding

Sat Aug 08, 2009 at 08:19:13 AM EDT

The interesting part of the vote was how closely it resembled Sotomayor's 1998 confirmation vote to become a member of the U.S. 2nd District Circuit Court. That vote was 67 to 29, with all 29 nay votes being cast by Republicans.

In 1998, these Republicans supported Sotomayor's appointment to the Circuit Court.

Bennett (R-UT), Campbell (R-CO), Chafee (R-RI), Coats (R-IN), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), D'Amato (R-NY), DeWine (R-OH), Domenici (R-NM), Frist (R-TN), Grams (R-MN), Gregg (R-NH), Hatch (R-UT), Helms (R-NC), Jeffords (R-VT), Lugar (R-IN), Mack (R-FL), Murkowski (R-AK), Roth (R-DE), Santorum (R-PA), Smith (R-OR), Snowe (R-ME), Specter (R-PA), Stevens (R-AK), Warner (R-VA)

Since 1998, some of these senators are no longer in office. But of the remaining senators from this list that voted for Sotomayor in 1998, these are the senators that supported Sotomayor:

- Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
- Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
- Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)
- Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

(Note: Because of Specter's switch to the Democratic Party, I didn't count him as one of the Republican votes.)

In 2009, the 68 to 31 vote to confirm Sotomayor was not as bi-partisan. In 1998, Sotomayor was backed by 25 Republicans. On Thursday, Sotomayor was backed by nine Republicans.

We know that Supreme Court nominees tend to bring out the best in partisanship, depending on the party of the president at the time. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) made it a point to say that he had not voted against any Supreme Court nominee. Yet, he did vote against Sotomayor before. He opposed her appointment in 1998 and was one of the 29 votes. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who supported Sotomayor in 1998, voted against her in 2009.

Aside from Senators Collins, Gregg, Lugar and Snowe, the other five Republicans to back Sotomayor were:

- Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
- Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL)
- Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)

Of the four, only Bond was a senator in 1998. He actually didn't cast a vote for or against Sotomayor that time around. But with Bond on the verge of retirement, a yea vote wasn't surprising. The same can be said of Martinez, who announced his resignation today and had said previously that he was going to retire. Alexander, who is also on his way out, wasn't too surprising.

The polarizing of the process that is the selection of a Supreme Court justice is disappointing, but a reality we must face. Having senators who once supported Sotomayor at other levels of the judicial system only to vote against her because she was an appointment to the Supreme Court shows just how politicized the process is. The irony is, of course, that we expect these justices to be fair and unbiased and yet, the process to pick them is less than fair and has politics all over it.

Four Republicans Will Support Sotomayor For Supreme Court

by: robert.harding

Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 10:50:04 AM EDT

Today, a fourth Republican - Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) - said she would also support Sotomayor's nomination.

An aide to Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins says Collins will vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Spokesman Ian Swanberg says Collins is preparing a statement detailing her support for President Barack Obama's first high court nominee. Sotomayor is in line to become the first Hispanic and third woman justice.

Collins becomes the fourth Republican to say publicly she'll break with her party's conservative leaders to support Sotomayor. The federal appeals court judge is expected to win confirmation easily in a Senate vote early next month.

The support from Collins and Snowe isn't surprising when you consider that they were two of the 67 senators who approved Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Circuit Court. Lugar, who was also around in 1998 for that vote, supported her then and will support her again now.

The same that is going on now and can be said of the 1998 vote: The conservative Republicans rallied against her, even though they were small in number. Only 29 senators (all Republicans) voted against Sotomayor's nomination in 1998. With the announcement of these four senators supporting Sotomayor, we are looking at a similar vote in 2009.

Obama To Nominate Bronx Native Sonia Sotomayor To US Supreme Court

by: phillip anderson

Tue May 26, 2009 at 09:56:03 AM EDT

Obama Selects Sotomayor for Court

President Obama has decided to nominate the federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, choosing a daughter of Puerto Rican parents raised in Bronx public housing projects to become the nation's first Hispanic justice, officials said Tuesday.

The decision, to be announced Tuesday morning, will be Mr. Obama's first selection to the Supreme Court and could trigger a struggle with Senate Republicans who have indicated they may oppose the nomination. But Democrats control nearly the 60 votes necessary to choke off a filibuster and even Republicans said they have little hope of blocking confirmation barring unforeseen revelation.

Judge Sotomayor, 54, who has served for more than a decade on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York City, would become the nation's 111th justice, replacing David H. Souter, who is retiring after 19 years on the bench. Although Justice Souter was appointed by the first President George Bush, he became a mainstay of the liberal faction on the court and so his replacement by Judge Sotomayor likely would not shift the overall balance of power.

But her appointment would add a second woman to the nine-member court and give Hispanics their first seat. Her life story, mirroring in some ways Mr. Obama's own, would add a different complexion to the panel, fulfilling the president's stated desire to add diversity of background to the nation's highest tribunal.

...

Mr. Obama telephoned Judge Sotomayor at 9 p.m. on Monday, officials said, advising her that she was his choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Later Monday night, Mr. Obama called the three other finalists - Judge Diane P. Wood of Chicago, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Solicitor General Elena Kagan - to inform them that he had selected Judge Sotomayor.

Both female Justices on the US Supreme Court will be native New Yorkers, as Sotomayor will join Brooklyn born Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the highest court in the land.  

The Next Justice: An Interview With Legal Scholar Christopher L. Eisgruber

by: Intrepid Liberal Journal

Sun May 17, 2009 at 23:07:42 PM EDT

The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

President Obama will soon announce his nominee to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. It's a critical nomination with long-term ramifications for civil liberties, executive power, management-labor relations, the environment and consumer rights. Hence, it is vital the public know whether the judicial philosophy and ideology of any prospective nominee to the court is compatible with their sensibilities and values. Ideally, all nominees would be forthcoming about their philosophy as the senate either confirms or rejects them with full knowledge of the sort of justice they're likely to be.

Breaking: Justice Souter To Retire

by: phillip anderson

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 23:40:59 PM EDT

NPR has learned that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the current court term.

The vacancy will give President Obama his first chance to name a member of the high court and begin to shape its future direction.

At 69, Souter is nowhere near the oldest member of the court. In fact, he is in the younger half of the court's age range, with five justices older and just three younger. So far as anyone knows, he is in good health. But he has made clear to friends for some time that he wanted to leave Washington, a city he has never liked, and return to his native New Hampshire. Now, according to reliable sources, he has decided to take the plunge and has informed the White House of his decision.

Factors in his decision no doubt include the election of President Obama, who would be more likely to appoint a successor attuned to the principles Souter has followed as a moderate-to-liberal member of the court's more liberal bloc over the past two decades.

In addition, Souter was apparently satisfied that neither the court's oldest member, 89-year-old John Paul Stevens, nor its lone woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had cancer surgery over the winter, wanted to retire at the end of this term. Not wanting to cause a second vacancy, Souter apparently had waited to learn his colleagues' plans before deciding his own.

Who will President Obama nominate to replace him? Since even before he won the election last year, there has been much speculation that Obama would nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to fill a vacancy on the Court. Hers would be an historic nomination as she would be the first Hispanic to serve (she's a Latina from the Bronx).

There are a number of other candidates as well, though I hear from some pretty smart folks that Sotomayor is definitely at the head of the pack, and SCOTUSblog has a good rundown of the others here. Note that all the top choices are women, btw.

Should be an interesting summer, no? It's now that Arlen Specter's defection might actually pay some dividends.

Stay tuned...

Davis v. CMCE

by: Dan Jacoby

Sun Feb 22, 2009 at 13:03:17 PM EST

The "millionaire's amendment" allowed congressional candidates whose opponents self-finance to a large extent, or who plan to self-finance, to receive donations up to three times the $2,300 limit from any single donor. SCOTUS ruled that it puts an undue burden on the self-financed candidates' right to spend their own money any way they wish, and violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment, as previously ruled in the landmark 1976 case Buckley v. Valeo (424 U.S. 1).

After reading the actual decision, it is obvious that this ruling is either irrelevant to CMCE, or would similarly render NYC's current campaign finance law worthless. The following arguments explain this view:

Breaking: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Pancreatic Cancer

by: phillip anderson

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 13:24:06 PM EST

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer, apparently at an early stage.

The court said the 75-year-old Ginsburg had the surgery Thursday at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She will remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days, said her surgeon. Dr. Murray Brennan. This was according to a release issued by the court.

Ginsburg, a justice since 1993, had colon cancer earlier in her tenure.

The cancer was discovered during a routine, annual exam late last month at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

The court said a CAT scan revealed a tumor measuring about 1 centimeter across the center of the pancreas.

Pancreatic cancer is no joke at any age. Such a diagnosis at age 75 awfully tough.

Hang in there, Justice Ginsburg.  

Thoughts on Supreme Court ruling regarding New York's judicial nominating procedure

by: robert.harding

Wed Jan 16, 2008 at 16:06:30 PM EST

This has been something I've been following for months now, especially when I found out about what went on at the 8th Judicial District's Democratic Party nominating convention. In fact, it was a hot topic when I was starting to write here at The Albany Project. (See here and here.)

I get back from the State of Upstate Address and see Phillip's and Maven's posts. So all the positive things I had to say about the State of Upstate address had to be put on hold so I could get out numerous four-letter words.

Click for more.  

Ms. Lopez Torres Goes to Washington

by: phillip anderson

Thu Oct 04, 2007 at 10:09:39 AM EDT

Her conclusion?

A decision could come down anytime before the summer. While no bets were being taken, this column fully expects a reversal from the Supreme Court of the United States and a finding that the present convention system is not unconstitutional.

Score one for Vito Lopez and party boss rule.