Tuesday July 7, 2009, 10:00 am
The American Bar Association announced on Tuesday that its standing committee on the federal judiciary has unanimously found Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be “well qualified” for elevation to the Supreme Court, its highest ranking.

The law group evaluates judicial nominees on the basis of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament. It does not consider judicial ideology.

The law group delivered the same assessment of the qualifications of the last two Supreme Court justices to be appointed, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A Alito, at a similar stage in the course of their nominations.

The group announced its findings in a brief letter from its committee chairwoman, Kim Askew, to White House Counsel Gregory Craig. The document, released by the Obama administration, did not include details of its evaluation.

But a detailed description of the process the group followed when evaluating Justice Alito, released at the time of his confirmation hearing, listed interviews with more than 300 people, including scores of other judges, lawyers who had appeared before him, and legal scholars. It also convened a reading group of legal specialists to go through his written opinions.

Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee opens on Monday.

Wednesday July 15, 2009, 8:09 am
Of course she did. They all stick together.

Wednesday July 15, 2009, 3:14 pm
Pat Buchanan To GOP: Forget Hispanic Vote, Attack Sotomayor On Race