Next up for Sotomayor ...
So, after three full days of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, what's left?
-Senators' opening statements. Check.
-The nominee's opening statement. Check.
-Round 1 of senators' questions. Check.
-Closed session to review the nominee's FBI file. Check.
-Round 2 of senators' questions. Not quite.
The hearing will convene at 9:30 a.m. EDT, with senators continuing to question the nominee. Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is urging the remaining questioners to use less than their allotted 20 minutes of time. He's trying hard to make sure he can gavel the hearing closed Thursday. But senators can't seem to help themselves when the cameras are rolling, so there's no telling when they'll stop talking -- and move on to the next portion of the hearing. Public witnesses still haven't been heard and both sides have a bunch lined up to speak for and against Sotomayor.
So at this point, it's anyone's guess how much more we have to endure. Because frankly, there've been few fireworks -- and there's little suspense. Barring a last-minute surprise, Sotomayor is all but certain to be confirmed.
-Liz Sidoti, AP reporter, politics
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The case of the other Franken
Thur Jul 16, 1:32 am ET
Sen. Al Franken got some chuckles at Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing with a cheeky observation about Perry Mason: "It amazes me that you wanted to become a prosecutor based on the show, because in Perry Mason the prosecutor on that show lost every week" except for one episode.
Grilled further, Sotomayor couldn't remember which episode -- and neither could Franken.
We used our crack investigative skills to find the culprit, "The Case of the Deadly Verdict," which aired in 1963. And there's a twist: It stars an actor named Franken.
Who is this other Franken? We called up Stephen Franken, a working actor who most recently starred in "Angels & Demons," to find out.
His bombshell? "I can tell you Al Franken is my cousin. His father and my father were first cousins."
If we were Perry Mason, we might say that Al Franken should have been more familiar with the episode in question. But cousin Steve doesn't remember it too well, either. "All I can remember is that I had to wear high heeled shoes and I'm a small man -- I wound up wearing the same high-heeled shoes Jack Lemmon wore in 'Some Like it Hot.'"
The other Franken played the villain and made his escape because he was wearing a raincoat and only seen from behind. Does the actor think the Senator can take any lessons from Perry Mason?
"Live a long life and stay in the Senate for a very long time. Perry Mason has a long run and I hope he does, too."
Oh, and one more thing: "Can you please tell Al that I'm in seventh heaven about his being seated in the Senate? We haven't talked in a couple of years, but I'm absolutely thrilled and excited by his election."
-Lisa Tolin, AP editor, with research from Rhonda Shafner
Perry Mason (AP Photo/USPS)
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Gay Marriage: new topic, old case
Thur Jul 16, 1:30 am ET
Three days into the hearing, the issue of same-sex marriage was raised for the first time -- in the context of a 37-year-old court ruling that Judge Sotomayor said she'd need to brush up on.
It's called Baker v. Nelson, and involves a 1972 ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court that said it was OK to prohibit gay marriage. The two University of Minnesota students who wanted to marry -- Jack Baker and Michael McConnell -- appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, contending that their constitutional rights were being violated.
The high court dismissed the appeal "for want of a substantial federal question" and the decision became a binding precedent for lower federal courts. In essence, the court was saying that a state's decision on same-sex marriage doesn't raise federal constitutional issues.
But the whole question may come back before the Supreme Court again before long. Several lawsuits are in the works challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of the same-sex marriages that six states have now legalized.
-David Crary, AP national writer, New York
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I like baseball. Do you like baseball?
Wed Jul 15, 8:19 pm ET
If you listened to the talk coming out of the hearing room this week, you'd think that the senators were talking baseball and not about a Supreme Court confirmation. Sotomayor has been praised for her ruling ending the 1995 baseball strike, her Bronx connection to the New York Yankees has been referenced several times and several senators have discussed their common love of the game. We talked to AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker about the use of baseball references and clichés in politics.
Q: Does baseball get referenced more than any other sports by politicians, especially those who are from a different generation?
A: Absolutely. Ever since President William Howard Taft tossed the ceremonial first ball a century ago, politicians have tried to "hit a home run" with voters. Give an inspiring speech and it's "a whole new ballgame." But many "screwballs" have "struck out" with proposals that are "way off base" or come "out of left field." And even a candidate who's "thrown a curve" knows, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, that "It ain't over till it's over."
For so many years, baseball was the national pastime and it showed in our presidents. Ronald Reagan recreated Chicago Cubs games on radio, George H. W. Bush was a first baseman at Yale and got his picture taken with Babe Ruth, Bill Clinton did his homework listening to the St. Louis Cardinals and Jimmy Carter still is a front-row fixture at the Atlanta Braves games. George W. Bush was owner of the Texas Rangers -- does that make him a "Bush leaguer"?
Barack Obama wore a Chicago White Sox jacket to the All-Star game, but he's a basketball guy. Many called his campaign a "slam dunk," his backers putting on a "full-court press" to get him elected.
Future presidents and politicians might "level the playing field" and rely on other sports to deliver their messages, trying for a "knockout" instead of hoping for a "Hail Mary pass." Naturally, no one wants to "drop the ball."
Q: Many senators have talked about how Sotomayor talked with them about baseball in their initial interviews. Is baseball an easy way for people from different backgrounds to connect?
A: Yes, just click on the Web site for WFAN-AM and listen to an hour of calls on the monster sports-talk station in New York. You might hear Jerry Seinfeld -- he's "Jerry from Queens" when he phones in -- Miriam from Forest Hills, Wall Street traders and bodega delivery boys, all wanting to talk about the Mets' woes. Everyone is welcome, there are no boundaries.
Do the NFL, NBA or NHL draw the same cross-section? Probably not. Even people who can't recite Lou Gehrig's career statistics tear up watching "Pride of the Yankees." And fans and nonfans alike can discuss whether "Field of Dreams" or "Bull Durham" or "The Natural" -- all different in their own ways -- is their favorite.
Q: Do you often hear sports analogies badly maimed by casual fans who don't really know what they're talking about?
A: Sure, it's inevitable. My pet peeve is when people talk about baseball "kicking off" its season. Save that for football, folks. That said, athletes sometimes misuse clichés. I've heard sluggers going to their first World Series talk about "unchartered waters" and pitchers describe a reversal of fortune as coming "a full 360."
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Top 5 things from Wednesday's hearing
Wed Jul 15, 8:19 pm ET
5. Sen. Ricky Ricardo. Sen. Tom Coburn evoked a 1950s TV show in a quip responding to Sotomayor's scenario about what he might do if she -- hypothetically, of course -- attacked him. "You'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do," Coburn said, to laughter from the crowd and Sotomayor. What he said -- and how he said it -- was a riff on a Hispanic television character, Ricky Ricardo, whose accent is now widely considered a broad parody. One woman in the audience, Yvette Melendez from Glastonbury, Conn., said: "I personally did not think it was appropriate." Coburn's office had this response.
4. Franken made a funny. All eyes were on Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, who was making his question-and-answer debut just a week into office. For the most part, the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian played the role of a serious senator as he lobbed softballs at Sotomayor. But he also challenged Sotomayor to name the case that Perry Mason lost. When she couldn't he quipped: "Didn't the White House prepare you for that?" -- and drew guffaws. He also stole the show when the microphones went out. His worked -- so he switched seats with Chairman Patrick Leahy.
3. The Specter show. Every Democrat seemed to go to great lengths to set up Sotomayor with easy questions -- but one. The turncoat Sen. Arlen Specter, who was a Republican until recently crossing the aisle. Known for his independent streak, Specter seemed to relish pressing Sotomayor on the intricacies of jurisprudence. He plowed through his 30 minutes of time like the prosecutor and former chairman he once was, cutting off Sotomayor when she strayed off topic.
2. Abortion. Protesters wanted to talk about it Monday and Tuesday, but it didn't come up in earnest until today -- when it dominated the discussions. Many -- if not most -- Republicans raised the subject with Sotomayor, and at least two Democrats raised the subject as well. Predictably, as all Supreme Court justices have before, she avoided disclosing her personal feelings and stuck to her script. She did allow that no one in the White House had ever asked her about her personal stance on the hot-button issue.
1. Ducking the hot-button issues. The most striking thing about today's question-and-answer session was how few questions Sotomayor actually was willing to answer. It didn't seem like many at all. But that shouldn't be a surprise. Like other Supreme Court nominees, this one went though weeks of White House preparation to learn how to craftily avoid disclosing anything about how she would rule if confirmed. Our wire story wrapping up the day sums up this point.
-Liz Sidoti, AP reporter, politics
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Wed Jul 15, 8:02 pm ET
For convicted killers on death row, the golden ring sought from the Supreme Court is a writ of certiori -- a review of their case by the court.
It's rarely granted and each Monday when the court is in session, the justices release a list of opinions and rulings normally littered with dozens of condemned murderers for whom "cert" is denied.
The Supreme Court appeal is the last stop in an extensive appeals process that takes years. Here's how it works:
--An inmate's attorney raises arguments in state courts.
--An attorney files a federal writ based on what the attorney believes are violations of constitutional rights.
--After a federal district judge rules, the case can be appealed to a federal circuit court of appeals.
--A ruling from that court can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
--At each stage in the process, there are filings back and forth from prosecutors and defense attorneys, and a court may even decide to hold a hearing.
If the Supreme Court decides "cert" is appropriate, it means the inmate won't be executed any time soon and certainly not before the high court itself listens to oral arguments from both sides. What happens in the interim time is that lawyers for death row inmates from all over the country cite the pending case before the justices in hopes of stopping their own client's execution until the court rules.
That's what happened in September 2007 when the court took a Kentucky case that challenged whether lethal injection was cruel and unusual and effectively stopped all executions in the U.S. for almost a year.
-Michael Graczyk, AP reporter who has covered more than 300 executions, writing from the Polunsky Unit prison outside Livingston, Texas, home of Texas Death Row
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From the newspapers: Nancy Drew's influence
Wed Jul 15, 7:53 pm ET
Kathleen Parker writes about Nancy Drew's influence on Sotomayor and other influential women.
San Antonio Express-News columnist Jonathan Gurwitz says that, in the long run, Sotomayor's confirmation might be a good thing for Republicans.
Coverage from the Houston Chronicle.
The Washington Post wrote about Sotomayor avoiding hot-button issues.
AP's Jesse Washington talks to other "wise Latinas."
The Los Angeles Times' blog about the hearing.
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Wed Jul 15, 7:31 pm ET
We asked you today to send your vote to @AP_Courtside on what video story you wanted us to work on -- "Senators' red carpet arrivals" or "Inside the closed hearing." You chose to peek behind the closed doors, and here's the story -- just click on the link on the left for "What happens in closed session?" and hear AP reporter Larry Margasak take you behind the scenes.
Other highlights from our video reports:
Usually the cameras are on him, but this time judiciary committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy got on the other side of the camera. Check out the video by AP reporter Matt Ford, under "Say cheese!"
Curious about the New Haven, Conn. firefighters at the heart of the Sotomayor decision that has drawn so much Republican fire? Check out the video by AP's Julie Pace, under "Firefighters in the hearing room."
Suggestions for videos you'd like to see? @reply us at @AP_Courtside on Twitter.
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Police fatally shoot man near Capitol; Sotomayor hearing unaffected
Wed Jul 15, 7:06 pm ET
As the Senate Judiciary Committee was wrapping up the third day of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, Capitol police say they fatally shot a man who brandished a weapon after fleeing from a routine traffic stop.
There was no indication that the shooting had anything to do with the Sotomayor proceedings. In fact, it appeared that no one inside the Senate hearing room knew what was taking place just a few blocks away from the office building.
Chairman Patrick Leahy earlier had announced that he would recess the hearing after Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin finished his questioning -- and the chairman made good on that promise, banging the gavel just before 6 p.m. EDT.
Minutes later, police gave the first details of the fatal shooting. Read the AP's full story as it develops here.
-Liz Sidoti, AP reporter, politics
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UPDATE: Shooting near the Capitol
Wed Jul 15, 6:41 pm ET
A few more details. Capitol police say the man they shot was 35-years-old.
Eyewitnesses say multiple gunshots were fired.
The shootings happened a few blocks away from where the third day of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was wrapping up.
More to come.
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UPDATE: Shooting near the Capitol
Wed Jul 15, 6:39 pm ET
Capitol police say no one else was injured after officers shot and killed a driver when he brandished weapon following a car chase.
Sgt. Kim Schneider, U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman, says officers stopped the driver during a routine traffic stop about 5:15 p.m. EDT. But that driver began to flee, striking and injuring a police officer.
The spokeswoman says the driver stopped and drew a weapon. Officers directed him to put it down, and Schneider says officers fired shots when he refused. Schneider says the man died.
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UPDATE: Shooting near the Capitol
Wed Jul 15, 6:25 pm ET
Capitol police told reporters they fatally shot a man a few blocks from the Senate after a car chase. Police say the man showed a weapon before officers opened fire.
They didn't disclose many more details but said they would provide updates as warranted.
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UPDATE: Gunfire near the Capitol
Wed Jul 15, 6:22 pm ET
Reporters are being briefed by police on the shooting. And witness reports are coming in.
Robert Drumm, a tourist from Oklahoma visiting the nation's capital with his family, tells the AP: "There were so many gunshots being fired my family got down." Drumm said he saw one victim, not wearing a police uniform, taken away in an ambulance. Drumm said he first noticed trouble when he saw one car speeding and being chased by a police vehicle.
Numerous emergency vehicles converged quickly in the area.
Another witness, Dale Lanigan of Toledo, Ohio, described a similar scene, although he said two police cars gave chase. As the car went past him, Lanigan said, "the driver had one hand on the wheel and it looked like he was reaching for something." Lanigan said he then heard shots and police ordered him to get away. He said the driver of the car was taken away in an ambulance.
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UPDATE: Gunfire near the Capitol
Wed Jul 15, 6:18 pm ET
More details: The fire department says a man was shot a block from the Capitol and has life-threatening injuries.
Our reporters who were in Sotomayor's hearing this afternoon say the hearing room has emptied, and senators are doing what they normally do after recessing for the evening -- they're standing in front of TV cameras giving interviews.
Larry Margasak says it's business as usual in the Senate office building hallways. And Laurie Kellman says "Everyone's gone." By that she means the major players in the proceedings.
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UPDATE: Capitol Hill
Wed Jul 15, 6:06 pm ET
Police will brief reporters soon on reports of gunfire near the Capitol. Will update you as soon as we can.
-Jesse J. Holland, AP reporter, Supreme Court
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UPDATE: Capitol Hill
Wed Jul 15, 6:01 pm ET
Our people on Capitol Hill are reporting that some of its entrances have been sealed off as police investigate reports of gunfire a few blocks away from the building where the Sotomayor hearing is taking place.
Minutes afterward, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy recessed the hearing for the evening, though the break was planned and didn't appear to be connected.
More as we know it.
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Shots reported outside the Capitol
Wed Jul 15, 5:53 pm ET
From the AP wire: Police have sealed off some of the entrances to the U.S. Capitol after reports of gunfire a few blocks away.
There were no immediate reports on possible injuries, although numerous emergency vehicles were visible in the nearby streets. AP reporter Julie Pace on the scene says police are being dispatched to the scene from the building while Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing continued.
We'll keep you posted as we learn more.
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The scorecard: Desi Arnaz 1, Frank Ricci 0
Wed Jul 15, 5:40 pm ET
We told you how Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Sens. Jeff Sessions and Lindsey Graham understand both gain and pain. But they're hardly the only winners and losers in Sotomayor's hearing. Here's the scorecard kept by The AP's reporters:
WINNERS
Desi Arnaz. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn may have some 'splainin' to do, but he's rekindled memories of the late Cuban bandleader who co-starred in the 1950s TV show "I Love Lucy." Responding to Sotomayor's scenario about what he might do if she -- hypothetically, of course -- attacked Coburn, the senator said, "You'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do." Sotomayor joined the crowd in laughter. What he said -- and how he said it -- was a riff on Arnaz' character, Ricky Ricardo, whose accent is now widely considered a broad parody. -Ron Fournier
Television cameras in the Supreme Court. Sotomayor signaled a willingness to allow cameras in the marble courtroom, and suggested she could be a strong advocate behind closed doors for broadcasting proceedings. She would replace a firm opponent of cameras, Justice David Souter, who said famously that they would have to "roll over my dead body." -Mark Sherman
LatinoJustice PRLDEF, or as it has been called at the Sotomayor confirmation hearings, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. How many people even knew this organization existed before now? Every attack drives more people to find out who they are and what they do. And of course, when Democrats defend the group and laud its activity, that's good for business. -Jesse J. Holland
LOSERS
Baseball in Washington. The hearings featured lots of talk about the Yankees and Mets. The Nationals? Not so much. When Sotomayor tried to throw a shout-out to the hometown team, she incorrectly referred to the "Senators." -Nancy Benac
Anti-abortion activists who disrupted the hearings. Coburn, an obstetrician and one of the Senate's staunchest opponents of abortion, apologized to Sotomayor for the activists' disruptive behavior. "The way you change minds" is not to disrupt hearings at which you are a guest, Coburn said. "You create a level of understanding, not condemnation." -Laurie Kellman
New Haven firefighter Frank Ricci. As soon as Republicans listed the white firefighter as a witness against Sotomayor, liberal groups did some digging and are now pointing out that he got his job by filing a discrimination case related to his dyslexia. -Holland
The English language. Sotomayor and senators often tortured it, but for different reasons. The judge was trying to avoid weighing in on any legal matter that could come before the court, or getting pinned down on past statements that have been attacked by her critics. Senators were talking to their core supporters and trying to draw out Sotomayor on key hot-button issues such as abortion and gun rights. -Julie Hirschfeld Davis
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Wed Jul 15, 5:28 pm ET
We know you're wondering: When will it all end? Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, that is.
A person in a position to know from behind that white marbled wall you see on TV advises us that the hearing will go as late as possible tonight. And by "possible," we mean as long as Sotomayor can sit there in some amount of comfort. Think about Sotomayor's injured leg, we're advised. Swelling is a bad thing.
True, but so is a fourth day of testimony by the high court nominee.
Chairman Patrick Leahy's trying to avoid that, and make Thursday all about the public witnesses.
A second knowledgeable person, this one of the opposite party of the first, says the committee is shooting to wrap up the hearings at 6 p.m. EDT, "plus or minus."
Who really knows? Stay tuned.
-Laurie Kellman, AP reporter, Congress
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Wed Jul 15, 5:03 pm ET
We asked readers for "winners and losers" in the Sonia Sotomayor hearing so far. Dave Chism, 39, manager of a software support department from Kennesaw, Ga., (Twitter username: @DaveChis) replied that it's hard to say whether Sotomayor herself is a winner or a loser because she's "two different people." Here's the rest of his take via e-mail:
"It is my opinion that her testimony directly contradicts her past statements that she has made on a number of occasions.
"The past statements which I am referring to are her 'wise Latina' and 'judges make policy' statements as well as her seeming willingness to consider foreign law. The senators have brought these statements up numerous times but her answers, to me, don't satisfactorily explain the reason for them. If it were just one instance of these statements, that is understandable but there were a number of references to each of them.
"It seems to me that she is saying what she knows she needs to say to get confirmed. I feel that if she were to answer these questions in another setting, any setting other than a confirmation hearing, her answers would be different.
"So, which judge are we going to get? The empathetic, policy making, wise Latina that would make better judgments than a white male? Or are we going to get the one giving the testimony -- a judge that will objectively look at the cases before her and apply U.S Constitutional law and not foreign law?"
Have a "winner and loser" suggestion? @reply your nomination on Twitter to @AP_Courtside.
-Lauren McCullough, AP social networks & special projects producer
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Wed Jul 15, 5:03 pm ET
Confused by some of the legal terms used in the Sotomayor confirmation hearing? Check out this video.
If you have an iPhone, you can also watch the vidgraphic on your phone in the free AP News app.
Or if you'd rather read them, check out these glossaries from AP reporter Nancy Benac:
Say what? A glossary guide, take three
Say what? A glossary guide, take two
Say what? A glossary guide, take one
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