Senate confirms Sotomayor as 2nd Circuit Judge

On October 2, by a vote of 68 to 28, the Senate voted to confirm President Clinton's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be a judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The nomination had been stalled for 15 months after at least one Republican placed an anonymous hold on the process.

Early in the confirmation fight, Sotomayor came under fire for not being tough enough on criminals, for often ruling against law enforcement officials on issues such as conduct of searches and inclusion of evidence, and for appearing to sympathize with convicted felons by apologizing in open court for even minimal sentences (see HUMAN EVENTS, Oct. 17, 1997, page 11).

Republicans feared that Sotomayor's liberal record and activist orientation might not only make her a poor candidate for the 2nd Circuit, but would also, because she is Hispanic, put her on a fast track toward becoming a Supreme Court justice. But in spite of their protests throughout the process, by the time the vote was called, Republicans were forced to concede confirmation after many within their own ranks, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah), announced support for Sotomayor.

For their part, Democrats unanimously backed the nominee. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D.-Vt), the ranking Democratic member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called her a "superb candidate" and a "highly qualified nominee" who had been wronged by the anonymous hold.

"When she is confirmed, as I fully expect she will be,' Leahy said, "she will be only the second woman and second judge of Puerto Rican descent to serve on the 2nd Circuit Judge Sotomayor is a source of pride to Puerto Rican and Hispanic supporters and to women everywhere:'

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D.-N.Y.) agreed, saying after the vote that the Senate has "passed an enormous milestone in the composition of the American judiciary."

With Sotomayor confirmed, 16 judicial nominees approved by the Judiciary Committee remained pending before the full Senate.

A "yes" vote is a vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to be a judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A "no" vote is a vote against confirmation.

FOR CONFIRMATION: 68

REPUBLICANS FOR (26): Bennett, Campbell, Chafee, Coats, Cochran, Collins, D'Amato, DeWine, Domenici, Frist, Gregg, Grams, Hatch, Helms, Jeffords, Lugar, Mack, Murkowski, Nickles, Roth, Santorum, Smith (Ore.), Snowe, Specter, Stevens and Warner.

DEMOCRATS FOR (42): Akaka, Baucus, Biden, Bingaman, Boxer, Breaux, Bryan, Bumpers, Byrd, Cleland, Conrad, Daschle, Dodd, Dorgan, Durbin, Feingold, Feinstein, Ford, Graham, Harkin, Inouye, Johnson, Kennedy, Kerrey (Neb.), Kerry (Mass.), Kohl, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Lieberman, Mikulski, Moynihan, Murray, Reed (R.I.), Reid (Nev.), Robb, Rockefeller, Sarbanes, Torricelli, Wellstone and Wyden.

AGAINST CONFIRMATION: 28

REPUBLICANS AGAINST (28): Abraham, Allard, Ashcroft, Brownback, Burns, Coverdell, Craig, Enzi, Faircloth, Gorton, Gramm, Grassley, Hagel, Hutchinson (Ark.), Hutchison (Tex.), Inhofe, Kempthorne, Kyl, Lott, McCain, McConnell, Roberts, Sesions, Shelby, Smith (N.H.), Thomas, Thompson and Thurmond. NOT VOTING (4): Bond, Glenn, Hollings and MoseleyBraun.

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Oct 23, 1998
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