Obama hails Sotomayor's life story, record

ByABC News
May 26, 2009, 11:36 PM

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's historic nomination Tuesday of federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court paves the way for a heated summer debate on the role her gender, Hispanic roots and working-class Bronx background should play in her rulings.

Obama heralded Sotomayor's life story, judicial record and "experience being tested by obstacles and barriers" as reasons for Senate confirmation. Conservatives, including the Committee for Justice, said she has wrongly inserted her personal views into rulings.

Conservatives such as Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice said Democrats, on the verge of controlling 60 of 100 Senate votes, have the upper hand on confirmation. But they said the 54-year-old jurist's legal rulings and past statements are fair game. They cited her comment on judges making policy, now making the rounds on YouTube, and her ruling against white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who charged reverse discrimination — a case soon to be decided by the Supreme Court.

"She's bringing her ethnic heritage and her gender to decisions," said Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network, who led a conference call Tuesday with dozens of conservative activists.

Republicans who will help decide her fate mostly held their fire but said they will parse her words. "If she does consider herself a policymaker, that would be entirely wrong," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "She's supposed to interpret my policy."

Obama cited the empathy Sotomayor gained being raised in a housing project by a widow who worked six days a week. She would bring to the court "wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life's journey," he said.

Sotomayor was first nominated to a federal district court in 1991 by Republican George H.W. Bush. Seven current GOP senators supported her 1998 elevation to a federal appeals court by Democrat Bill Clinton. Eleven current GOP senators — including Alabama's Jeff Sessions, now the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican — voted no.