Word: backgrounder
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Assuming nothing surfaces in Sotomayor's background that causes controversy, expect her to be seated when the court opens for its new term in October, after thorough confirmation hearings that will seem more like a lovefest than a legal firing squad. By both design and luck, Obama faces a Supreme Court-pick process that has been drained of the tension and combat that has characterized such moments in the past several decades. (Read "Four Enduring Myths About Supreme Court Nominees...
...unless Administration background checkers failed to find what they needed to know about Sotomayor's history, those spoiling for a battle are not going to get one. Most Republicans will squelch their first instinct to go to the mattresses and instead follow the President's pathway: avoid a fight...
...course, the judicial-confirmation process can take surprising turns, as Senators delve more deeply into the background of a nominee. (Perhaps you've heard of Clarence Thomas?) Which is why Senate Republicans want to give this one a lot of time. "We will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law evenhandedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences," Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that could be read as cautious or ominous. "Our Democratic colleagues have often remarked that...
...speech at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, Sotomayor aired the view that a judge's gender and ethnic background inevitably affect his or her decision-making, and probably should. She said then, "Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement ... I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male...
...brief remarks to the court, Carney, the defendant’s attorney, sought to humanize his client, detailing his personal aspirations and his family background...