Hearing big news in Puerto Rico; not so much overseas

Interest in Sonia Sotomayor is sky-high in Puerto Rico, where her rise is seen as a source of national pride. The popular El Nuevo Dia newspaper devoted its front page to the story Sunday,  pointing out that her mother grew up in a rural community in southwest Puerto Rico, and that many of her cousins still live in the region. 

The paper said many Puerto Ricans are praying for Sotomayor's success. Angela Acevedo told the newspaper she hopes Sotomayor is approved:  "If we have Puerto Ricans at NASA, why not in the Supreme Court?"

But the press in Europe seems blasé about Sotomayor, who has generated little controversy. The scandal-hungry British press, dealing with setbacks in Afghanistan and the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death,  hasn't paid much attention. The same was true in much of mainland Europe, although one Swedish daily, Dagens Nyheter, devoted a whole page Sunday to the upcoming confirmation hearing.

-Gregory Katz , AP reporter, London

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From the newspapers: Sotomayor, the Princeton freshman

Sun Jul 12, 3:40 pm ET

In The Washington Post, Peter Winn, an author and Tufts University professor, discusses his impressions of Sonia Sotomayor when she was a freshman in his Contemporary Latin America course at Princeton. Winn writes that, of all his students in seven years at Princeton, Sotomayor was the one "who took greatest advantage of the opportunities there and emerged most transformed by her experience."

Read the story here.

Other Sotomayor coverage from newspapers around the country:

The Dallas Morning News writes about Texas Sen. John Cornyn and other Republicans promising to keep open minds about Sotomayor.

The Daily News in New York writes about support for Sotomayor coming out of the NAACP's centennial celebration in Manhattan.
 
The Chicago Tribune compares some of Sotomayor's ideas to some 2,000 year-old Roman codes.

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Ripped from the wire

Sun Jul 12, 3:33 pm ET

The jury: 19 not-so-angry men and women.
 
In a new dispatch Sunday, AP Supreme Court reporter Mark Sherman writes that the most fertile ground for Republican questioning appears to be Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comment and other questions of race and ethnicity. But it's a delicate issue for Republicans who need to increase their appeal to Hispanic voters. Sen. John Cornyn, expected to be a skeptic in the hearing, noted on "Fox News Sunday" that a third of his constituents are Hispanic.

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Highlights from Sunday morning live chat

Sun Jul 12, 3:17 pm ET

AP's Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier hosted a live chat on our @AP_Courtside Twitter account this morning to discuss the Sunday morning news and the Sotomayor hearing.

Ron will be back tomorrow and every day during the hearing at 3 p.m. EDT for a 30 minute re-hash of the day's news.

Some highlights from today's live chat:

Conversation between @AP_Courtside and @BenMarried:

@BenMarried: Has Sotomayor ruled in any divorce cases? #rftalk

@AP_Courtside: Fed judges generally don't rule on divorce cases.There is this interesting #Sotomayor custody case: http://bit.ly/fEiKx #rftalk

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Conversation between @AP_Courtside and @PurpleChamp:

@AP_Courtside: Schumer predicts on NBC that #Sotomayor will get 78-plus votes (Roberts' number). Your turn: How many votes will she get? #rftalk

@PurpleChamp: Sotomayor will get 83-85 votes

@AP_Courtside: Your vote has been locked in.

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Conversation between @AP_Courtside and @mystic23 ():

@mystic23: seems to me McCain is in agreement there with George Bush Sr. on #Sotomayor

@AP_Courtside: Got me there: What has George Bush Sr. said about #Sotomayor? #rftalk

@mystic23: he said the attacks on her are unfair and unwarrented. he's actually appointed her to a post once upon a time.

@AP_Courtside: Doh! I should have known that. It's at our blog: http://bit.ly/3pmHi3 #rftalk

@mystic23: lol, that's funny.

-Lauren McCullough, AP social networks and special projects producer

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Sotomay-har-har-har, Take Two

Sun Jul 12, 3:09 pm ET

David Letterman's Top 10 Surprising Facts about Sotomayor

Our favorites: No. 5 (“From 1983 to 1987, was married to Motor City madman Ted Nugent”) and No. 1 (click the link to see for yourself).

-Lisa Tolin, AP lifestyles editor

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From San Francisco, a case with national health-care implications

Sun Jul 12, 3:00 pm ET

If she’s confirmed, the unabashed New Yorker will be confronted with a San Francisco-created legal question almost immediately.

This fall, the Supreme Court is scheduled to decide whether it should consider the legality of San Francisco's landmark universal health care program, which taxes city businesses to pay for coverage for the city's 60,000 uninsured residents. The city has signed up 43,000 residents since the program's launch two years ago, and Mayor Gavin Newsom is flogging the issue as he stumps for governor.
 
Several state, county and city governments are ready to start similar programs if the high court passes on the question and lets stand a federal appeals court ruling that authorized the plan. Smart money says the Supreme Court will take up the issue because eight conservative judges of the appeals court tried and failed to overturn their colleagues' decision. The Supreme Court often steps in to settle these so-called "circuit splits."

San Francisco's powerful restaurant lobby is asking the Supreme Court to invalidate the insurance program, arguing that universal health insurance is the exclusive domain of the federal government. They also say it costs them too much.

-Paul Elias, AP Legal Affairs reporter, San Francisco

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SHE SAID IT: Sotomayor's take on judging

Sun Jul 12, 2:57 pm ET

This 2001 comment by Sotomayor made conservatives mad.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

This 1997 comment from her appellate court nomination hearing should make them glad.

"I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it."

-Larry Margasak, AP reporter, Congress

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Easy peasy

Sun Jul 12, 2:49 pm ET

Think you've got it tough, Judge Sotomayor? Just ask Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork.

Thomas had to defend accusations of sexual misconduct with Anita Hill, but he eventually was confirmed after adding the term "high-tech lynching" to the American vocabulary.

When Bork's nomination went down, he appeared unfeeling and as if he cared more about legal ideas than the effect the law had on people during his confirmation hearing. Conservatives are still upset about Bork's failure.

This time, there will probably be some heated words and pointed questions, but no one expects Sotomayor to endure the kind of grilling Thomas or Bork went through.

-Jesse J. Holland, AP reporter, Supreme Court

Judge Clarence Thomas (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Big guns, no smoking

Sun Jul 12, 2:45 pm ET

Talk about a lack of juicy stuff.

The National Archives, along with the presidential libraries of Clinton and the first President Bush, released a mountain of documents about Sotomayor -- more than 5,000 pages.

And, any Supreme Court enthusiast can see them online.

But a smoking gun, there is not.

In fact, there's not much in the new pile that isn't available elsewhere. Many documents were withheld from the public in this release because they contain personal information or insights into administration deliberations that are protected under the Presidential Records Act.

In November 1991, Republican George H.W. Bush nominated Sotomayor to be U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York. In 1997, Democrat Clinton nominated her for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The new collection has biographical information, court opinions, letters in support of her previous nominations, news clippings, speeches she's given over the years and routine e-mails between Clinton White House staffers. Only a few pages come from the Bush years.

-Cal Woodward, AP reporter, Washington

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Meet and greet – but incomplete

Sun Jul 12, 2:41 pm ET

Sotomayor had "before and after" meetings with 89 members of the 100-member Senate. Before June 8, she was walking from one office to another. Starting June 8, she was hobbling around on a broken ankle after an airport stumble.

Why didn't she meet with all senators? Some said they were voting against her, so why bother?

-Larry Margasak, AP reporter, Congress

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A call from the big kahuna

Sun Jul 12, 2:38 pm ET

It was a pep talk of the presidential kind.

Just back from an overseas trip, President Barack Obama called his Supreme Court nominee from the Oval Office on Sunday to wish her good luck on the eve of her multi-day Senate confirmation hearing.

The White House says the chief executive complimented the judge for making courtesy calls to 89 senators and made a prediction, telling her he was confident she would be confirmed.

No word on what Sotomayor said in return. But we're betting she thanked him again for the opportunity to serve. It's standard fare for most presidential nominees.

-Liz Sidoti, AP reporter, politics

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Staging the show

Sun Jul 12, 2:30 pm ET

The political theater won't unfold in the traditional Senate Judiciary room.

Too small, too cramped.

Instead, the drama will take place in the spacious Hart Senate Office building room where the last two confirmation hearings for John Roberts and Samuel Alito occurred.

But it wasn't proceedings that made the building famous. The structure arguably is best known for being evacuated in 2001 because of anthrax powder sent through the mail.

The Judiciary Committee moved to the Hart building, which is larger, just after it opened Roberts' hearing in the Caucus Room in the Russell Senate office building. That room was the site of hearings on the sinking of the Titanic, the Watergate scandal, and Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination.

-Jesse J. Holland, AP reporter, Supreme Court

Hart Senate Office building

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsavais)

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What to expect: tons of talk

Sun Jul 12, 2:30 pm ET

Imagine sitting in a classroom and being forced to listen to more than 19 different professors each give you different lectures back to back to back.

To back.

That's what Sonia Sotomayor will have to endure during the first day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Senate Judiciary Committee members will give opening statements on Monday, and Sotomayor must sit at a table before the panel and listen to each member of the committee talk -- and talk and talk -- before she gets to get a word in edgewise.

Oh, they'll let her introduce her family and a couple of senators -- most likely her home state New York champions, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will extol her virtues to the committee. But mostly, Sotomayor will sit alone at a table, watching members of the Senate Judiciary Committee talk to her and at her – not with her.

-Jesse J. Holland, AP reporter, Supreme Court

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In the hearing room: Ask the experts

Sun Jul 12, 2:00 pm ET

Don't forget! AP reporters will be stationed in the Senate room where Sotomayor's confirmation hearing will take place this week. They’ll be blogging right back to this space. Have a question for them? Send it to us on Twitter @AP_Courtside.

In the meantime, they answered this one: What one key thing don't you know about Sotomayor that you hope to learn during the hearing?

Laurie Kellman: "Does she in fact hope that a wise Latina would make a better decision?"

Jesse J. Holland: "Sotomayor's rumored to have a temper, so will any of the Republicans' jibs get to her or can she really hold her tongue?"

Larry Margasak: "How well she'll handle the pressure. Will her personality come out, will she be loose and even joke a few times, or will she be tight as a drum?"

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Watch and learn -- Supreme Court TV

Sun Jul 12, 1:50 pm ET

Who is Sonia Sotomayor? What are the names of Supreme Court justices? The AP asked those questions on the streets of New York and Washington -- and the answers captured in video are, well, classic.

More must-see video: Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., sat down with AP to talk about Sotomayor's confirmation hearing this week. And if you want to know how Sotomayor has been preparing for her time in the spotlight, AP Supreme Court reporter Jesse J. Holland explains the "murder board." (About as scary as it sounds.)

Find the videos here.

And keep coming back. Stay tuned for more!

-Liz Sidoti, AP reporter, Politics

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Blast from the past: Cheney back in the news

Sun Jul 12, 1:09 pm ET

Sunday was supposed to be the curtain raiser for Sonia Sotomayor and her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Instead, Dick Cheney stole the show.

On the eve of her Senate debut, the TV talk shows were dominated by reports that the former vice president directed the CIA eight years ago to keep Congress in the dark about the spy agency's counterterrorism program.

So rather than giving Washington -- and the rest of the country -- a concentrated dose of Sotomayor's professional and personal profile (John McCain called her "a great American success story" on NBC's "Meet the Press"), the Sunday circuit coughed up chunks of Cheney:

-- Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said Congress should investigate whether Cheney and others in the Bush administration ordered the CIA to conceal the program.

-- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the Bush administration may have broken the law.

-- Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, suggested that the criticism is designed to give political cover to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is under GOP attack for claiming she wasn't briefed about Bush-era intelligence.

-Ron Fournier, AP Washington bureau chief

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SAY WHAT? A glossary guide, Take Two

Sun Jul 12, 12:40 pm ET

Here's another primer for you on phrases you're likely to hear senators utter this week during the Sotomayor hearing.

STRICT CONSTRUCTIONIST: A judge who reads the Constitution "almost as a Bible and can somehow find out what the founders wanted on the major issues of the day," says Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University historian. The changes in society that have taken place over the past 200-plus years? Irrelevant. Conservatives take this as a compliment.

ORIGINALIST: Similar to constructionist. A judge who believes the Constitution means the same thing today as it did when it was drafted in the summer of 1787, making no allowance for societal changes. They believe the Constitution's meaning can only be changed by amendment. "Our manner of interpreting the Constitution is to begin with the text and to give that text the meaning that it bore when it was adopted by the people," Justice Antonin Scalia once said.

LIVING CONSTITUTION: Reflects the idea that the world has changed since the founding of this country. Therefore, while the Constitution provides a good framework for decision-making, legal decisions have to adjust to modern realities. Originalists don't buy this; activist judges do.

-Nancy Benac, AP reporter, White House

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Missed opportunity?

Sun Jul 12, 12:31 pm ET

Republicans might have been able to lay claim to the first Hispanic justice, if Senate Democrats hadn't blocked his way.

In 2001, Republican President George W. Bush tried to place Washington attorney Miguel Estrada on the federal appeals court in Washington. It has long been a proving ground for Supreme Court justices, including four current members of the court.

Estrada, a Honduran immigrant who graduated from Harvard Law School, "could have been the first Hispanic justice," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Sunday – if, that is, Democrats hadn't blocked his confirmation to the appeals court.

Back then, the Senate was closely divided and Democrats prevented Estrada's nomination from coming to a vote on the Senate floor seven times over two years. Estrada eventually withdrew his nomination. 

Now President Barack Obama, a Democrat, has nominated Sonia Sotomayor, who has Puerto Rican roots. And even Republicans say her confirmation is all but assured.

-Mark Sherman, AP reporter, Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court name game: Blind to justices

Sun Jul 12, 12:25 pm ET

Quick! Name a Supreme Court justice.

Can't? You're not alone.

Americans know the names of Hollywood celebrities and sports stars. But many draw a blank when it comes to Supreme Court justices.
 
Check out this video if you’re in doubt.

And there's this new C-SPAN poll.

It shows that more than half of Americans can't name any Supreme Court justice.

Is President Barack Obama's nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, any more well known? Not so much. More than half -- 57 percent -- couldn't name the person nominated by the president to serve on the Supreme Court. Still, most people did know that she would be the first Hispanic on the court.

-Christine Simmons, AP reporter, Washington

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A family affair: They'll be right behind her

Sun Jul 12, 12:15 pm ET

Who can we expect to offer silent support by sitting behind Judge Sonia Sotomayor in the hearing room this week?

Sotomayor's 82-year-old mother, Celina Sotomayor, and the matriarch's husband, Omar Lopez, plan to be there. Also certain to be on hand: Sotomayor's brother, Juan; her sister-in-law, Tracey; her niece, Kiley; and her twin nephews, Conner and Corey Sotomayor.

After President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor, her doctor brother told ABC that his sister was "tough as nails." Even so, the family's turning out to lend support.

-Philip Elliott, AP reporter, White House; Larry Margasak, AP reporter, Congress

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NBC's 'Meet the Press': McCain calls Sotomayor 'a great American success story'

Sun Jul 12, 11:50 am ET

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he believes Sotomayor will be approved by a large margin, possibly by more than the 78 votes that Chief Justice John Roberts received.
 
Asked whether he supports Sotomayor, Sen. John McCain said: "I'd just like to see the hearings starting on Monday." The Arizona Republican and former presidential candidate called the nominee "a great American success story."

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'Fox News Sunday': Cornyn and 'judicial philosophy'

Sun Jul 12, 11:45 am ET

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, acknowledged that Republicans won't block Sotomayor's confirmation as the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice. But he said: "we're going to talk about her judicial philosophy."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she never discloses before a vote whether she'll give a nominee a thumbs up or a thumbs down. But she said this case is different: "I take enormous pride as a woman in voting for her. I find her amazing."

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ABC's 'This Week': Kyl vows to be 'thorough'

Sun Jul 12, 11:45 am ET

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., outlined the GOP strategy: "To be as thorough as possible" in questioning Sotomayor.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., praised Sotomayor as a "moderate jurist" who has "done an exceptional job."

 

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CBS' 'Face the Nation': Committee chair hopes for no 'partisan fight'

Sun Jul 12, 11:45 am ET

Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.: "I suspect she will be confirmed but I would hope it does not turn into a partisan fight for the good of the courts and for the good of the Supreme Court."
 
Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.: "I am really flabbergasted by the depth and consistency of her philosophical critique of the idea of impartial justice."

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Just ahead: Sunday morning talk show chatter

Sun Jul 12, 11:35 am ET

Call it the pre-game warm up.

Democratic defenders of President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee and Republican critics of Sonya Sotomayor made the rounds on the Sunday morning news talk shows. The programs are heavily watched by Washington insiders, including political operatives, journalists and lawmakers. These are the people who will shape the "narrative" ahead of Sotomayor's multi-day confirmation hearing that starts Monday in the Senate.

The goal for both sides: repeat their talking points enough so that the arguments make it into the media's storyline for the hearing.

Predictably, White House-dispatched Sotomayor supporters praised her qualifications while GOP senators raised questions about whether she will inject bias into her rulings.

Both sides previewed arguments you're likely to hear next week. Repeatedly. To the point where your eyes may glaze over.

Democrats expressed confidence Sotomayor will be confirmed, and even Republicans suggested the nomination wouldn't fail. But GOP senators also made clear they would ask tough questions.

Stay tuned for a look at what some of them said.

Also: Did you tune into any of the shows? Want to chat about it? Write to us with your thoughts on Twitter at @AP_Courtside.

-Liz Sidoti, AP reporter, Politics

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The confirmation hearing by the numbers

Sun Jul 12, 11:00 am ET

Senate Judiciary Committee members: 19

Committee Democrats: 12

Committee Republicans: 7

Committee members with law degrees: 13

Witnesses Republicans intend to call: 14

Witnesses Democrats intend to call: 15

Votes needed to send Sotomayor's nomination to the full Senate: 10

Senate Democrats: 58

Senate Republicans: 40

Senate independents, though they both lean Democratic: 2

Votes needed to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote on Sotomayor's nomination: 60

Chance Sotomayor's nomination fails: None, say Democrats. Slim to none, say Republicans.

Any interesting numbers that we missed? Send your suggestions to us @AP_Courtside on Twitter and we'll post them here.

-Natasha Metzler, AP reporter, Washington

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Live Chat with AP's Ron Fournier on Twitter

Sun Jul 12, 10:45 am ET

Tomorrow (July 12, 2009) at 9 a.m. EDT, AP's Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier will be taking over our @AP_Courtside Twitter account. He'll be tweeting thoughts and analysis from the Sunday morning news shows and talking to you about the #Sotomayor confirmation hearing.

Have a question? Send it to @AP_Courtside and be sure to include the hashtag #rftalk in your tweet.

We're looking forward to hearing from you.

-Lauren McCullough, AP social networks and special projects producer

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