Reuters:Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor got a boost on Tuesday in what is expected to be a relatively easy road to Senate confirmation when an influential U.S. lawyer's group gave her its top rating.
The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary based its unanimous "well qualified" evaluation on a review of the integrity, competence and judicial temperament of Sotomayor, a federal judge for 17 years who seems headed to become the first Hispanic on the highest U.S. court.
Clearly, this means Sonia Sotomayor should be confirmed yesterday -- unanimously -- and anyone who says otherwise hates America and the Constitution. That is, if you buy Republican arguments in favor of confirming Samuel Alito.
Orin Hatch:
Mr. President, I rise to address the nomination of Samuel Alito to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Judicial nominees should be judged on their qualifications and their judicial philosophy. On the first point, there is no question that Judge Alito is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.
In 1990, when the first President Bush nominated Judge Alito to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the American Bar Association unanimously gave him its highest "well qualified" rating. This body confirmed him at that time without dissent.
Regarding judicial philosophy, the most important principle is that judges are not politicians. When we hear someone talk only about the results of a judge's decisions, chances are they are applying a political rather than a judicial standard. This is what we heard today on this floor from my Democratic colleagues.
Jeff Sessions:
Sadly, partisanship prevailed and Democrats chose to vote in lockstep against this committed public servant. Every Democrat on the Judiciary Committee voted against this well-qualified judge!
And now, Mr. President, as this nomination comes before the full Senate, the unfair rhetoric continues. I find it sad that yesterday, my colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kerry took to the Floor in this Chamber to insinuate that he could, as he said “Almost imagine Karl Rove right now whispering to Judge Alito, ‘Just say that you have an open mind, say whatever it takes.’ ”
This accusation is insulting not only to Judge Alito - a man who by all reports is a fair and honest public servant – but to the intelligence of every American who shares Judge Alito’s understanding that the proper role of a judge is to interpret law, not make it.
These types of slanderous accusations also fly in the face of the diverse and numerous independent groups who have stepped forward to defend Judge Alito’s character and qualifications.
Many of his former colleagues, including several judges who have served with him, testified under oath that he is fair and independent.
The American Bar Association, hardly known as a bastion of the right-wing, unanimously agreed to give Judge Alito their highest ranking of “well qualified” for his quote “integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament.”
Of course, as much as the Republicans enjoyed pretending that the American Bar Association confirms SCOTUS justices and that the senate just makes it official, this isn't the case at all.
Still, it would be nice if Republicans were consistent in their arguments. Don't expect Sessions to see "well qualified" on her resume and think, "well then, I guess I have to vote to confirm her!"
It's not about being consistent, it's about politics. The ABA's evaluation doesn't mean a damned thing now and, to be honest, it didn't mean a damned thing then.
