In the past few days Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been making the rounds
at Capitol Hill speaking with various senators on the Judicary
Committee. These meetings have again raised the question of scheduling
the confirmation hearings. Obama and the Democrats want the hearings
to be over by the August recess, while the Republicans are saying the
hearings should come only when her records have been properly reviewed regardless of the break.
The last nomination to the Court, Sam Alito, was not rushed through the
confirmation process. Alito was nominated at a time when the court was
in session with a vacancy. With the death of former Chief Justice
William Rehnquist on Sept. 3 2005, a vacancy was left on the court by
the Court's October opening day (John Roberts was in confirmation
hearings to replace O'Connor and was switched to replace Rehnquist at
his death). Bush announced the nomination on Oct. 31 and Alito was
finally confirmed on Jan. 31 of the following year. Mind you, all of
this time the court was in session. Alito had a record nearly the same
length as Sotomayor, and coincidentally there was a looming Senate
recess (Christmas break) before Alito's hearings.
The pace of Sotomayor's confirmation certainly should not be expedited over the pace of
the Alito hearings. Both parties deserve the chance to
fully and thoroughly go through her record. Sotomayor has just
submitted her official questionnaire for potential Federal judges. Some
reports have said that this questionnaire alone is a few hundred pages.
If that's the length of her official form, imagine the length of her
decisions over the course of more than a decade on the federal bench.
One of the more annoying problems with Congress, is when a Congressman
votes for a measure, only to later criticize that very vote for the
reason that he never read in the first place. This tactic was widely
used by the Democrats in regards to the Patriot Act. An equally
problematic corollary is when the President sends legislation to the
Hill asking for a quick good faith vote (think the stimulus packages).
Our government needs to be informed, both sides should see that. This
fact is especially true in regards to a person who could be impacting
U.S. law for the next few decades.
Sotomayor will eventually be confirmed, unless there is a serious
problem that can be found by the Democrats. Any Republican objections
will be swept away by the numbers game alone. All Americans,
regardless of political ideological, should encourage the Senate to
press ahead only when ready. All Americans should be insistent, on
this and every other matter.