President Barack Obama's pick of Sonia Sotomayor to join the US
Supreme Court will trigger a battle in the US Senate over what
conservatives called her liberal positions, but she is likely to
prevail.
Sotomayor's selection for the lifetime position may do little to
change the court's 5-4 conservative majority as she replaces
liberal justice David Souter, who is retiring.
Sotomayor, 54, fulfills Obama's objective of choosing someone
without a privileged background, given that she grew up in a public
housing project in the Bronx in New York City.
Democrats welcomed her nomination warmly while Republicans, who are
in the minority in the Senate, promised to give her respectful,
rigorous scrutiny during the summer months.
She will produce more fireworks in her Senate confirmation battle
than would have any of the other people who were on Obama's short
list - proof that he did not shy away from a battle with his
political opponents.
But given the Democrats' strong majority in the 100-member Senate,
it appeared unlikely Republicans would be able to derail her
appointment or drag it out indefinitely, although they were already
warning they wanted ample time to consider her nomination.
Republican dilemma
With mid-term elections around the corner in 2010, the nomination
poses a predicament for Republicans - how hard to go after her at a
time when party leaders would like to stem the exodus of Hispanic
voters from their ranks.
Republican strategist Scott Reed said Republicans should take care
to examine her record, not her gender and her heritage.
Of key concern to the opposition was a 2005 comment Sotomayor made
during a panel discussion at Duke University's law school.
She said the Court of Appeals is where policy is made.
Although she qualified the statement, conservatives saw it as
ample evidence that she would not strictly interpret the US
Constitution as they prefer but instead would seek to make
government policy from the bench.
"What the American public deserves is a judge who will put the law
above her own personal political philosophy," said Mitt Romney, a
potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate.
In some respects Sotomayor may be hard to pigeonhole.
Legal experts said Sotomayor does not appear to be either
particularly liberal or conservative on business issues - resulting
in a patchwork of decisions based more on the merits and facts of
the cases than an ideological approach to the law.
Sotomayor, at her White House announcement event, cited her
experience both as a prosecutor and as a private lawyer working
with international corporations as having given her a varied
background.
"I strive never to forget the real-world consequences of my
decisions on individuals, businesses and government," she said.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
