CongressDaily, National Journal - Sotomayor Nomination Prompts Several Sharp Responses

by Michael Posner, CongressDaily

Conservatives criticized the selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court nominee and groups quickly braced for battle over President Obama's choice.

The conservative Heritage Foundation said she deserves careful review by the Senate. Robert Alt, senior legal fellow and deputy director for its Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, said Sotomayor's statements about whether judges can be objective in most cases, and her remark that the ethnicity of some judges makes them better at doing their job than judges of a different ethnicity, raise serious questions about her views.

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese said senators must ensure that Sotomayor would not use her seat "to advance liberal policy preferences."

People for the American Way President Michael Keegan called Sotomayor "a superb choice, adding she "has one of the sharpest intellects on the federal bench" and "an open mind." Keegan said she will judge each case on its merits and called the nomination good news for rights and liberties.

But American Tort Reform Association President Tiger Joyce assailed Sotomayor for an "apparent embrace of regulation through litigation." Joyce said her views should be of concern of all who hold that unelected judges should not actively seek to make policy.

"This is a very aggressive decision that will trigger a national debate on the issue of judicial activism," said Jay Alan Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice. "The background and philosophy of Judge Sotomayor clearly puts the Constitution front and center. How will this nominee view the Constitution and the rule of law? Will she embrace past comments when she stated that the 'court of appeals is where policy is made?' This nomination raises serious questions about the issue of legislating from the bench."

Americans United for Life President Charmaine Yoest called Sotomayor "a radical pick that divides America." Yoast said Sotomayor believes the role of the court "is to set policy which is exactly the philosophy that led to the Supreme Court turning into the National Abortion Control Board denying the American people to right to be heard on this critical issue."

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said, "We are encouraged by the strong support she receives from her peers and other legal scholars and the fact that the Senate has twice confirmed her for federal judgeships" and look forward to learning more about Judge Sotomayer's views on the right to privacy and the landmark Roe v. Wade decision during the nomination process.