Group Sotomayor Belonged to Sued Over Job Tests

Some civil rights leaders have expressed alarm at Sessions' intense focus on Sotomayor's time at PRLDEF, suggesting that it indicates that he's unfairly targeting her because she's Hispanic.

Sessions has "been extraordinarily consistent in his disdain for civil rights and equal opportunity. I don't know of very many prominent Latino or minority lawyers or judges who haven't been involved in civil rights sometime in their lives," said Antonia Hernandez, a former president of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "It's a message that's being sent to minorities and Latinos that you cannot participate and be involved in the civic life of your community if you ever want to attain a position like this."

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Associated Press Writer Sharon Theimer contributed to this report.

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