July 14, 2009
Posted: July 14th, 2009 10:05 AM ET
Judge Sonia Sotomayor kicked off the second day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings Tuesday.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor kicked off the second day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Judge Sonia Sotomayor kicked off the second day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings Tuesday telling members of the Senate Judiciary Committee she is guided by a "full appreciation" of the limited jurisdiction of the court system, but of its importance as well.

Central to judging, she argued, is the need to keep an open mind, examine only the relevant facts for each case, and then make a "decision that is limited to what the law says."

"The law is not legal theory," she argued. "It's facts."

Sotomayor made her remarks in response to a question from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, the chairman of the committee.

Filed under: Sonia Sotomayor


vernah petersen   July 14th, 2009 11:43 am ET

Judge Sotomayor on second day confirmation is definately will come up a better response to different issue dealing the groups of ten judges in the congress to measure her capacity, dealing the facts in legallity. Would she be a great judge in minority selection the answer, is until she is in the final senate confirmation, answers all questions that is needed to address. It is a top one too, but she will over come to it. Not because she is a smart cooky, she was serving in the bench.

Doug Neumann   July 14th, 2009 11:37 am ET

I just love how she is changing her tune from everything she has previoiusly said. Her own words do not support what she is now saying.

johnnie   July 14th, 2009 11:35 am ET

supreme court justice.. judge sotomayor is already comfirmed. ... and this panel of john king, alex castanellos,.. jeffery tobin.. candi crowley.. is for what for, on the morning show for (cnn) is a laugh, their all republicans tryting to spin the the truth. (cnn) is sinking and falling down the ladder as credible (network). we the american people are very aware of the (game) .. (cnn) is playing and it making (cnn) look very silly and just (lame). gloria borger is another (gop) puppet trying to put doubt into judge sotomayors qualifications. it is a shameful tactic of (cnn) to have these so-called moderators , (trying ) to be a voice,and it is not working... when will (cnn) come to its senses?.. maybe.. maybe not..?

bozo the obama   July 14th, 2009 11:19 am ET

i would have thought that Sen. Leaky Leahy was a little too old to have a 'slobbering love affair' for a 'wise latina'.....ohh i forgot, they have the same liberal sickness.

UNHAPPY DEM   July 14th, 2009 11:19 am ET

Her track record does not reflect this view. Just another politician saying whatever it takes to get what they want.

Scott, Tucson   July 14th, 2009 11:17 am ET

Than why do liberals have a hard time understanding that an illegal is breaking our immigration laws and should be deported?

Diane P   July 14th, 2009 11:17 am ET

Didn't John McCain support cap & trade? Wasn't she his running mate? She's ridiculous, why do you continually force her lack of intellect & common sense on us? This constant bashing of the President is really getting tired & lame.

dominican mama 4 Obama   July 14th, 2009 11:11 am ET

@ phoenix 86:

Look up the definition of '"rebuttal" in the dictionary. On the other hand, your feeble attempts at expanding your vocabulary warm my heart.

GOP   July 14th, 2009 11:10 am ET

This woman is a leftist liberal and nothing she will say can put a lid on the facts.

If she was not as far left as most people believe you can bet money Obama would not have nominated her in the first place.

He wants and activist judge on the court, just like he is an activist liberal pretending to be president!

Deb   July 14th, 2009 11:05 am ET

You will do just fine Sonia. Don't let the Republicans dictate the law to you.

I laugh at comrade Limbaugh daily   July 14th, 2009 11:03 am ET

Its facts,something the rightwing radical Jihadist repulicans dont get.

Bob in Pa   July 14th, 2009 11:01 am ET

Oh she has been coached well.

machtim akannah   July 14th, 2009 10:59 am ET

I fail to understand the commentary and the rationalizations which are being made re the Firefighter's Test. A common test was provided to all individuals. The test is color blind. There is a pass / fail standard based upon the answers to the test from the individuals who are taking the test. Presumably (I don't know the specifics of the test) the grading of the test was also color blind. What's to interpret. You either passed or you did not. It only takes common sense, not a lawyer to evaluate the test results.

CT native   July 14th, 2009 10:59 am ET

Ahhhhhh ! Day 2
Hmmmmmmmmm think she's doing OK ? She's defending her position on the CT Firefighters. Hmmmmmmm was it ? FACTS ? Hmmmmmm or something else? It sure looked like "something else" to me. Hmmmmmmmmm more dummying down. Oh well that's obama's new government. GOT TO GET AS MANY AS WE CAN in this 4 year term. We are in the hole for over a trillion now so how much worse can things get?. All we need is WAR ?

Tony   July 14th, 2009 10:58 am ET

At this point, she is going to ay whatever needs to be said to get the job. and then do what she wants..............

WAIT

That sounds like NOBAMA>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

phoenix86   July 14th, 2009 10:53 am ET

Funny, in her past speeches she seems to imply that law is more intuition than anything else.

panem et circenses   July 14th, 2009 10:46 am ET

What about the fact that the test administered to the firemen in the Ricci case was proven to be unbiased? She totally ignored that one, very central, fact in her ruling.

She is right on one point – only a "wise" Latina woman would get to that conclusion after looking at the actual facts. Impartial people, regardless of color or gender, would see it for what it is – discrimination.

Bill NY   July 14th, 2009 10:46 am ET

We need her desperately,
Instead of asking about the wise latina remark, we should be asking why historically for the most part only white men are qualified to sit on the high court. The Constitution and its meaning and intent depends on the readers mindset. The court as it sits now is definately an activist court for the conservatives. This Supreme Court leads me to believe that Dredd-Scott could be reinstated any day now.

Jim   July 14th, 2009 10:40 am ET

It is really galling to watch Senator Jeff Sessions lecture Judge Sonia Sotomayor about racial bias. What a hypocrite – too bad Sessions was just re-elected, but I guess I can wait until 2014 to donate the maximum amount to the campaign of his opponent – any opponent...

GI Joe   July 14th, 2009 10:37 am ET

Good Lord !! Sessions is all over the place. First one case then another then another, etc., then back to previous the on to more. He needs to get organized. On second thought, the bigoted man needs to retire to his backward STATE of ALABAMA.

JGB   July 14th, 2009 10:33 am ET

Too bad she doesn't practice what she preaches!! But then again she has been coached what to say. All this confirmation crap is a total waste of time. Democrats are on the runaway freight train destroying this country, just get her confirmed and get over it. Lousy choice, but is all their choice!

TCM   July 14th, 2009 10:33 am ET

"....and I promise I'll uphold the law, just as it's interpretted to me from Mr. Obama...."

Obama is a Mistake   July 14th, 2009 10:33 am ET

Judge Sotomayor is just not believable.

Dave   July 14th, 2009 10:31 am ET

How about showing the quote of her stating the SHE DECIDES the law?

This lady is a bigoted racist and an out of control activist who thinks the constitution is not valid anymore becaus t was written by a bunch of white men. She is dangerous and unfit to be a judge based on many of her decisions.

Ryan Indy   July 14th, 2009 10:29 am ET

Sure Sonya......Tell me how you are so much smarter because your are a woman and latino.....I think the republicans should use the same measuring stick that Obama used for Roberts. What comes around goes around.....

Doug, New Jersey   July 14th, 2009 10:25 am ET

She is a far leftist radical who will right laws from the bench, she is a racist as her comments like the wise latina is superior to white males, and her blatent undeniable racism against the fire fighters in New Haven clearly show, however she still will probably be an improvement over Ginsburg, who has been the worst judge the court has ever had in its entire history.

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