CNN

New instances of Sotomayor's 'wise Latina' comments.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Judge Sotomayor spent three days on Capitol Hill this week telling senators the "wise Latina" quote from 2001 that's causing so much controversy was a "poor choice of words."

But looking through the documents she sent to Capitol Hill yesterday, it turns out she has used a version of that quote of multiple times in multiple addresses over the years.

Some examples:

–In a 1999 speech: "I would hope that a wise woman with the richness of her experiences
would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion."

–In a 2002 speech to the Princeton club: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion."

–In 2004, in a speech on women judges at Seton Hall Law School: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion."

The White House says these examples prove the concept is part of her stump speech, intended to be an aspirational comment, as the judge has told senators. Democrats also note this is a comment that pre-dates her nomination as a circuit court judge - and that, at that time, it didn't draw Republican complaints.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed that reasoning earlier Friday.

"If it was a bad choice of words, it was a bad choice of words repeatedly," he said, "leading one to believe that it probably wasn't just an isolated statement, but a core belief."

Earlier: Sotomayor supporters focus on '94 speech