Sotomayor Under Fire for Discrimination Case
At Sonia Sotomayor's Confirmation Hearings, New Haven Firefighter Ben Vargas Says Legal System 'Didn't Care' About his Case
Witnesses Testify For and Against Sotomayor
After senators exhausted their questions, the panels of witnesses began testifying for and against the nominee.
Democrats have asked for the testimony of her former employers and mentors, including legendary New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau and former FBI Director Louis Freeh.
In an article for the New York Daily News, Morgenthau wrote glowingly about his former employee: "Assistant District Attorney Sotomayor was no 'liberal.' Rather, she was a tough and effective prosecutor. Young prosecutors are sometimes picked on by judges and defense attorneys, but no one successfully pushed this ADA around." To the general public, Sotomayor is perhaps best known for her ruling as a lower court judge in 1995 that ended a baseball strike. Upon her nomination President Obama said:
"In a decision that reportedly took her just 15 minutes to announce -- a swiftness much appreciated by baseball fans everywhere… she issued an injunction that helped end the strike. Some say that Judge Sotomayor saved baseball."
David Cone, a former major league player, will testify on her behalf.
Kim J. Askew, of The American Bar Association, will testify about the group's recent rating of "well qualified" -- its highest rating -- that it recently bestowed on Sotomayor.
The minority will also call witnesses who will testify against Sotomayor.
In addition to two of the New Haven firefighters who sued the city, Sandy Froman, the former President of the National Rifle Association, is set to talk about her fears that Sotomayor is hostile to gun's rights advocates. In her testimony Sotomayor has said she recognizes that the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual's right to have a gun and she mentioned that one of her godchildren is a member of the NRA, but gun rights advocates believe she would vote for an expansion of gun restrictions.
The hearings are expected to continue into Friday. Senator Leahy has said he hopes to have a Senate vote by the August recess.
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