A national group of GOP lawyers are petitioning the Senate to oppose President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court on the heels of South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s announcement he would vote in her favor.
The Republican National Lawyers Association wrote a biting letter the heads of the Senate and top members of the Senate Judiciary panel Monday morning, citing ongoing concerns about her ability to be an impartial judge as one of the chief reasons for opposing her confirmation.
“Judge Sotomayor’s prior statements and writings reflect a disturbing view that the dispensing of equal justice to rich and poor is an ‘aspiration,’ not a solemn obligation, and evince a hubris about the roles of race and personal experience in judging that is inconsistent with proper standards of judicial impartiality,” the letter said.
It went on to say that “her confirmation as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court will not only send the wrong message to all Americans, rich and poor alike, but would result in a justice who views her judicial role as being an ‘advocate’ on behalf of groups and causes she identifies with and not as serving as a ‘neutral arbitrator’ obligated to impartially adjudicate the cases that come before her.”
Before the Senate can vote to send Ms. Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the Senate Judiciary Committee must hold a vote on her nomination. Three of the seven Republicans on the committee have said they would vote against her, including Ranking Member Jeff Sessions, of Alabama.
Mr. Graham, also a Judiciary committeeman, said he would vote in her favor over the weekend.
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Ms. Sotomayor is expected to pass out of committee and then be confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday.
