Watch the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings LIVE

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Special Coverage from NPR News
and The NewsHour:
Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings
Live broadcast has concluded

PBS is providing full coverage of the Senate Confirmation Hearings for Supreme Court Nominee and Bronx native Judge Sonia Sotomayor, which began Monday, July 13, 2009. NewsHour Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff anchors live coverage from the hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building, with analysis from Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal. PBS will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the days when Sotomayor is scheduled to testify before the committee.

Monday’s hearing included statements from each of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Sotomayor’s opening statement. In Tuesday’s hearing, senators from both sides of the aisle queried Judge Sotomayor about her judicial record, including her controversial decision on racial preference in the promotion of firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut, and whether her personal feelings and her racial background affect her rulings on the bench. In Wednesday’s hearing, senators questioned Judge Sotomayor about her views on abortion, gun control, televising Supreme Court deliberations, and her controversial “wise Latina” comment.

Our live webcast of the Senate confirmation hearings concluded on Thursday, July 16 at approximately 1:30 p.m. ET. For in-depth coverage and analysis of Judge Sotomayor and the Supreme Court, please visit Supreme Court Watch at the online NewsHour.

Susan Bell

Coyle and Woodruff make a good team in covering
the confirmation hearings. Thank you.
Robert Burian

Sotomayor makes interesting and thought provoking judicial decisions. She is fine as long as there is a higher court to review her decisions. Alas, a Supreme Court Justice has no higher authpority review. It is NOT the place for her.
LARRY FRIED

BURIAN: SOTOMAYOR WILL NOT BE THE ONLY JUSTICE ON
THE SUPREME COURT. IF YOU ARE SO AFRAID OF HER
POTENTIAL OPINIONS AND/OR DECISIONS, HAVE YOU NO CONFIDENCE INN THE OTHER NEMBERS OF THE SUPREME
COURT
marisabklyn

When I tried to view the Sotomayor hearings live online I was unable to do so. I clicked play and a message with an exclamation point over it came on the screen. Since the message was written in WHITE letters I was unable to read it. It said something like Subscription News Hour I cldn’t make out the rest. Why did this happen?
THIRTEEN Webmaster

@marisabklyn The first hearing ended at approximately 3 PM ET Monday, so our live feed will be offline until the hearings reconvene at approximately 9 AM ET Tuesday morning.
Gloria Mazzone

Being from different minority myself and having experienced predudice, I understand her comment that white waspy men have not experienced this and their judgement comes from another place. They have always been in the top place when judgements are made. They have always received approval in all their relasionships without the stigma of immigrant parents. I would not change my ethnicity for anything.
Carlos Vidal

SOTOMAYOR will provide to our SC, the chance to wide up the margin of vision into the people.
She will be an added value to it. Also should be the opportunity of US to rest on the fact that justice for all now, will be better served.
Chris Palatucci

Ms. Mazzone, everyone’s ancestors have immigrated here at some point. Just because yours have maybe immigrated more recently doesn’t make your judgments more important or relevant than anyone else’s.
Advocate4Good

PBS’s Senate conformation hearing

Sonia Sotomayor’s conformation hearing was nothing short of brilliant. Judge Sotomayor has clearly demonstrated her uncompromising ability and ethical position as Judge where defending existing laws. The Constitution of The United States will be in good hand with a nonnegotiable Justice in Sonia Sotomayor, as she will indeed defend its governing principles of law.

The next step is to get Congress and the Senate to reinstate God into America’s government, our courts and school system that we might drive out lawlessness from America. After which, everything else will fall into place. If not, America can expect more of the same, but exponentially! Man must involve the wisdom of God, if America is to ever be that once great nation again, it must continue to support Israel, if to be blessed of God and those who withdraw from helping Israel, will be cursed by God. What America forces Israel to give up, America will suffer a greater recompense for its part!

In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 12, Verse 1-3, we see what God says about His response to how people treat Israel: “And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Those that fight against Israel are fighting against God; guess who wins?
patricia button

Thsnk you for carrying this. It is riveting.
Felix Rospond

I have great difficulty in squaring away the constitution protection for “all men” and the idea that Congress or any judicial or executive body has the right to legislate a woman’s rights to have the same protection under the law.
Mindy Ohringer

It is fascinating to observe this public disucssion of “empathy” and the assertion that cognition and affect (thought and feeling) are separated (Mind/Body split) as opposed to functionally interrelated. Surely, most psychologists would say that cognition unfolds in a “bath” of affect: the way we think impacts how we feel and vice versa…Would you possibly include some commentar/analysis from some political psychologists? (
John Warren Gotsch

Sotomayor’s intellectuality is beautiful to watch and hear. Contrasted with Sessions et alia gives me hope.