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Sotomayor defends Latina comments Sotomayor defends Latina comments
(about 1 hour later)
US Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been speaking on the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. US Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has defended comments that seemed to suggest a "wise Latina" could make better decisions than a white man.
She defended comments that appeared to suggest a "wise Latina" could make better decisions than a white man. She was speaking on the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The nominee said she did not believe that any racial or ethnic group had an advantage in sound judgment. Ms Sotomayor also said abortion rights were "settled precedent" and that there was a constitutional right to privacy.
Nominated by the US president, Ms Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is confirmed.Nominated by the US president, Ms Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is confirmed.
'Equal opportunity''Equal opportunity'
"The context of the words that I spoke have created a misunderstanding," Ms Sotomayor told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy. Ms Sotomayor told the top Republican on the Committee, Sen Jeff Sessions, that her remark that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion" than a white male judge was an attempted "play on words" that "fell flat".
RISE OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR 1954: Born in South Bronx to Puerto Rican parentsFather died when she was aged nine and her mother raised her1979: Graduates from Yale and serves as an assistant district attorney in New York County1984: Moves into private practice, specialising in intellectual property1991: George Bush Snr chooses her as a district judge1997: Bill Clinton nominates her to the circuit court Profile: Sonia Sotomayor Sotomayor on the spotRISE OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR 1954: Born in South Bronx to Puerto Rican parentsFather died when she was aged nine and her mother raised her1979: Graduates from Yale and serves as an assistant district attorney in New York County1984: Moves into private practice, specialising in intellectual property1991: George Bush Snr chooses her as a district judge1997: Bill Clinton nominates her to the circuit court Profile: Sonia Sotomayor Sotomayor on the spot
"I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging," she said. "It was bad because it left an impression that I believed that life experiences commanded a result in a case, but that's clearly not what I do as a judge," she added.
"I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences." She earlier told committee chairman Sen Patrick Leahy: "I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging.
Her comments were in response to criticism of a 2001 speech in which she appeared to suggest a "wise Latina" would usually reach better conclusions than a white man without similar experiences. "I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences," she said.
During the first day of the hearings, on Monday, Ms Sotomayor, 55, told the committee that her personal story - of growing up in a poor New York neighbourhood to Puerto Rican parents, going to law school and rising to become an appeals court judge - was "uniquely American". Ms Sotomayor was asked what she felt of the Roe vs Wade ruling that legalised abortion in 1973.
She said that, subject to subsequent reversals, "all precedents of the Supreme Court I consider settled law".
On privacy, she said: "There is a right of privacy. The court has found it in various places in the Constitution."
Her comments came on the second day of hearings, in which committee members were able to put direct questions to Ms Sotomayor for the first time.
The first day, on Monday, was taken up with opening statements from the committee members and from Ms Sotomayor herself.
In her statement, Ms Sotomayor, 55, told the committee that her personal story - of growing up in a poor New York neighbourhood to Puerto Rican parents, going to law school and rising to become an appeals court judge - was "uniquely American".
Later this week, senators will question other witnesses about Ms Sotomayor's record as a judge.
Confirmation hearings for a new Supreme Court justice provide one of Washington's most imposing pieces of political theatre, correspondents say.Confirmation hearings for a new Supreme Court justice provide one of Washington's most imposing pieces of political theatre, correspondents say.