Sotomayor on 'Latina' remark: 'My words failed'

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By Joseph Weber

The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor resumed Wednesday on Capitol Hill with Sen. John Cornyn returning to questions about her "wise Latina" comment.

"You said a wise Latina woman would make a better decision than a white male. I'm confused," said Mr. Cornyn, Texas Republican.

"My words failed. They didn't work," replied Judge Sotomayor, dressed in a black pin-striped blazer.

Wednesday is the third day of hearings, in which all 19 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have 30 minutes to ask questions of Judge Sotomayor.

Eight remaining senators are scheduled to ask questions Wednesday, including Sen. Thomas Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, and Sen. Al Franken, Minnesota Democrat and the newest member of the committee.

The senators also have 20 minutes to ask a second round of questions.

The hearing are expected to end this afternoon but could extend to Thursday.

On Tuesday, Judge Sotomayor, 54, retreated from her praise of the "wise Latina." She also endorsed a privacy right to abortion in the Constitution and insisted she was not opposed to gun ownership during a day of questioning on hot-button issues.

The nominee would replace retiring Justice David H. Souter.

The hearings have been interrupted five times by protesters.