Obama's Supreme Court nominee meets lawmakers

Jun 2, 2009, 17:26 GMT

Washington - Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's pick to join the highest court in the United States, met leading US senators Tuesday who will help decide whether she is approved as the first-ever Hispanic judge on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor met the top Democrats and Republicans in the chamber as well as leading members of the Senate's Judiciary Committee. She is expected to face a nomination hearing in July.

Sotomayor, who was born to Puerto Rican parents but grew up in New York's South Bronx, is considered a moderate left-leaning judge and is widely expected to get the Democratic-controlled Senate's approval.

Regarded as one of the most important, long-lasting decisions made by a US president, Obama nominated Sotomayor to the court last week to replace Justice David Souter, who is also viewed as a left-leaning judge and is set to retire in June.

Democrats are pushing for Sotomayor's confirmation nomination before the Senate goes into a month-long recess in August, but some Republicans have suggested they will delay her nomination.

Republicans have focussed attention on a 2001 comment by Sotomayor that 'wise Latina' judges could reach better decisions than white male judges because of their more diverse life experiences.

Conservatives have argued those sentiments suggest she puts 'identity politics' above judicial fairness, while some have gone as far as to call the comment 'racist.'

'The attacks made against her are among the most vicious I've ever seen,' Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said after meeting Sotomayor. Leahy said she had 'impeccable credentials.'

Supreme Court nominations are typically among the most partisan debates held in the United States.

The nine-member court itself is sharply divided, with four justices viewed as conservative and four considered liberal, including Souter. Justice Anthony Kennedy is often labelled the 'swing vote' on the court.