Judicial Watch Asks U.S. Senators to Oppose Sotomayor Nomination

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced that it sent a July 30 letter to all United States Senators asking them to oppose the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. The opposition letter, signed by Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, reads in part:

"This letter is to state (Judicial Watch’s) opposition to the elevation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Judge Sotomayor’s record is troubling in many respects, to include the following:

• Judge Sotomayor repeatedly made prejudiced and biased comments with regard to race and sex.
• Judge Sotomayor has expressly rejected the notion that courts should be impartial.
• Judge Sotomayor expressed support for the use of international law in deciding questions arising under the United States Constitution.
• Judge Sotomayor’s activity at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund suggests she personally supports a radical, judicial activist agenda that includes opposition to any restrictions on abortion rights and support of taxpayer funding for abortion.
• Judge Sotomayor wrongly dismissed significant constitutional questions concerning the Second Amendment, racial discrimination, and property rights with summary or cursory opinions.
• Her confirmation hearing testimony on the all the above points was, at best, disingenuous. Indeed, a July 19 Washington Post editorial supportive of Judge Sotomayor acknowledged that some of her testimony was ‘unconvincing and at times uncomfortably close to disingenuous.’

"Judge Sotomayor’s advocacy as a judge for a race-based ideological agenda is problematic enough, but elevating an individual with such a record to the Supreme Court will tend to undermine the American people’s confidence in the fair administration of justice by the High Court.

"Accordingly, on behalf of the membership of Judicial Watch, I urge you to oppose Judge Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

"On a related matter, we urge you to consider ways to reform the Senate’s handling of presidential judicial nominations. The current confirmation process is unnecessarily political and serves to undermine Americans’ faith in a fair and independent judiciary. Judicial Watch stands ready to work with you on ways to ensure a more rational approach to the Senate’s constitutional ‘advice and consent’ role in judicial nominations."