Minorities

Withholds decision on Sotomayor until after confirmation hearing

June 9, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today met with United States Supreme Court Associate Justice nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

After the meeting, the senator made the following comments.

Senator Martinez said:

"She is not only a delightful person, but also a very deep thinker about judicial issues. As a longtime lawyer, I enjoyed the conversation about issues of jurisprudence, the role of the judiciary, and the role of a judge.

"She is very bright and very much someone who would fit in very well at the Supreme Court.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- June 9, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday announced that hearings to consider the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will begin on July 13.    » read more »

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- Following his meeting today in the U.S. Capitol with U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement:

“After meeting with Judge Sotomayor today, I was extremely impressed by her knowledge of the law and her personal warmth. I was also impressed by her honesty in answering questions and her understanding of the role of the judiciary at all levels of our federal system in ensuring the promise of ‘equal justice under law.’

I am strongly inclined to support her nomination, assuming the satisfactory completion of the confirmation process, which is designed to provide information and insight into the nominee’s academic background, judicial temperament and knowledge of the law.    » read more »

Receives 2008 Corporate Diversity Award from the National Minority Business Council

NEW YORK, June 9, 2009 — The Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) will be honored by the National Minority Business Council, Inc. (NMBC) for its commitment to diversity and social responsibility during the Council's 37th Anniversary Celebration event to be held on June 11, 2009.

"With leaders like The Bank of New York Mellon, the National Minority Business Council has been helping small, minority- and women-owned businesses succeed for over a quarter century," said John F. Robinson, NMBC President and CEO. "To us, their commitment to diversity means expanded opportunities for small, minority and women business owners. This recognition is well deserved."    » read more »

06/08/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today met with President Obama's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor. If confirmed, Sotomayor will become the third woman to serve on the nation's highest court and the first Hispanic Justice.

Sen. Landrieu said:

"It was a pleasure meeting Judge Sonia Sotomayor today. In addition to having an impressive professional resume, her personal journey from the Bronx projects to the federal bench is truly extraordinary. Judge Sotomayor is a historic choice who will bring a wealth of experience and added diversity to the nation's highest court. I have confidence in her fair-mindedness, and I intend to support her Senate confirmation. "    » read more »

June 2, 2009 -- "I was delighted to have the chance to see Judge Sotomayor, again. I have come to know her fairly well during her years of service on the Second Circuit, the Circuit covering Vermont, New York and Connecticut.    » read more »

June 1, 2009 -- Attached, please find a letter that was sent this morning to Senators Reid, McConnell, Leahy, and Sessions from law clerks of Judge Sonia Sotomayor expressing their full support for her elevation to the Supreme Court.

June 1, 2009

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
335 Russell Senate Office Building    » read more »

May 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama called for a rigorous, principled and swift confirmation for his Supreme Court nominee, Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Judge Sotomayor’s extraordinary professional career, as a New York City prosecutor, a litigator, and as a judge for 17 years, is matched only by her remarkable life story, from growing up in a housing project to graduating from Princeton University and Yale Law School.

With the depth of her experience, she will be a prudent Justice who respects and adheres to the Constitution and the law.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Washington D.C.    » read more »

May 27, 2009 -- Washington, D.C – US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court:

“By selecting Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, President Obama fulfilled his promise not only to consult with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, but to ultimately appoint an individual with a ‘sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity.’ This is a historic appointment, and I believe that many will find inspiration in Judge Sotomayor’s remarkable personal story and realization of the America dream.    » read more »

May 27, 2009 -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) Wednesday released the bipartisan questionnaire the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Judge Sonia Sotomayor to complete in connection with her nomination to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Once the questionnaire is completed and returned to the Committee, copies will be made available online and in print.

A PDF of the questionnaire is available online.

UNITED STATES SENATE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES

PUBLIC

1. Name: State full name (include any former names used).

2. Position: State the position for which you have been nominated.    » read more »

May 28,2009 -- SEATTLE, WA – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today praised President Barack Obama’s nomination of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States and urged the U.S. Senate provide a fair and bipartisan confirmation process.

“With this nomination, President Obama has demonstrated the breadth and depth of our judicial bench,” said Cantwell. “I am especially pleased the President has chosen a woman for the high court and, in a historic first, a person of Hispanic background. The court will benefit from diversity and from the common touch that Justice Souter brought to his tenure.”    » read more »

May 26, 2009 -- Denver, CO - Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, released the following statement on President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court:

"Sonia Sotomayor is a tremendous choice for the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a thoughtful and balanced judge with a keen intellect and a broad academic and legal background. Her skill and fair-mindedness on the federal bench has won the praise and support of Republicans and Democrats alike.    » read more »

May 26, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Well, I'm excited, too. (Laughter.)

Of the many responsibilities granted to a President by our Constitution, few are more serious or more consequential than selecting a Supreme Court justice. The members of our highest court are granted life tenure, often serving long after the Presidents who appointed them. And they are charged with the vital task of applying principles put to paper more than 20 [sic] centuries ago to some of the most difficult questions of our time.    » read more »

May 27, 2009 -- Fellow Second Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi on Sotomayor: "She’s Always a Very Forceful and Powerful Judge. She Has, Not on a Insignificant Number of Occasions, Caused Me to Change My Mind." "Judge Guido Calabresi, a fellow judge on the 2nd Circuit Court who taught the young Sotomayor torts at Yale, said she was the one who organized dinners for the judges on the court and their spouses. But he was also quick to praise her for her work on the bench. ‘She's always a very forceful and powerful judge,’ Calabresi said. ‘She has, not on an insignificant number of occasions, caused me to change my mind. I would read one of the memos she had written on a case and say, "I think she's got it and I don't."’" [Los Angeles Times, 5/27/09]    » read more »

May 26, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV issued the following statement following President Obama’s selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for United States Supreme Court Justice, to replace Justice David Souter:

“Judge Sotomayor is an honorable and wise choice for the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, she will bring to the high court an almost unprecedented level of judicial and legal experience and a reputation for carefully balanced and research-based decision-making.    » read more »