Why was sotomayor confirmed

George Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced Thursday morning that he had decided to back Sotomayor after weighing a range of factors, including her education, experience and temperament. Based on my review of her record, and using these factors, I have determined that Judge Sotomayor meets the criteria to become a justice on the Supreme Court.

Watch the Senate vote ». In a telling political sign, none of the Republicans who voted for Sotomayor is seeking re-election in Conservative activists, including the powerful National Rifle Association, mounted a concerted effort to rally GOP opposition to Sotomayor. The abortion issue also played a significant role in the nomination, with abortion-rights supporters backing Sotomayor and opponents urging her defeat. Charmaine Yoest, head of Americans United For Life, praised the 31 Republican senators who opposed Sotomayor for a "stunning vote of 'no confidence' in a nominee whose background of abortion advocacy and record of judicial interventionism raise serious questions about her fitness for the high court.

Underlying the debate over Sotomayor was the larger political question of whether the Republican Party risked alienating Hispanic voters by opposing the first Latina nominee. The party's share of the Hispanic vote dropped sharply in last year's presidential election. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey. Sotomayor's confirmation capped an extraordinary rise from humble beginnings. Her father worked in a factory and didn't speak English. She was born in the Bronx and grew up in a public housing project, not far from the stadium of her favorite team, the New York Yankees.

Her father died when she was 9, leaving her mother to raise her and her younger brother. Her mother, whom Sotomayor has described as her biggest inspiration, worked six days a week to care for her and her brother, and instilled in them the value of an education. Sotomayor later graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and went on to attend Yale Law School, where she was editor of the Yale Law Journal.

She worked at nearly every level of the judicial system over a three-decade career before being chosen by President Obama to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Accepting the nomination, Sotomayor thanked Obama for "the most humbling honor of my life.

In every case, she said, "I have done what the law requires," adding that personal biases and prejudices of a judge should not impact a case. However, "life experiences have to influence you," she said. Judges have to recognize their feelings and then "set them aside," she said. Conservative Republicans asked Sotomayor about her stance on hot-button topics, expressing fears she would be an activist judge for liberal causes.

Watch a report on the role race can play in Supreme Court nominations ». Asked about gun control, Sotomayor said she recognizes an individual right to bear arms as recently identified by the Supreme Court. Heller, she said. The recent Supreme Court ruling concluded that a sweeping handgun ban in the nation's capital violated Americans' constitutional right to "keep and bear arms.

On abortion, Sotomayor called the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade a matter of settled law. While refusing to offer her personal view of the decision, she noted that the core holding in Roe was reaffirmed in the ruling Planned Parenthood v. Sotomayor also said the question of whether affirmative action is needed is "always first a legislative determination.

Noting that the Constitution promotes and requires the equal protection of all citizens, she said she hoped that race would no longer be considered a factor 25 years from now. Sotomayor also broke with President Obama on the importance of empathy in judging. Obama, who nominated Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, has said that in a small number of tough cases, "the legal process alone will not lead you to a rule of decision" and that "the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge's heart.

Asked by Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona to reply to the president's remark, Sotomayor said she "wouldn't approach the issue of judging in the way the president does.

The "job of a judge is to apply the law," she said. It's the law. The judge applies the law to the facts before that judge. Twitter Facebook Email. Speaking shortly after the confirmation, the President said he was grateful for the Senate's confirmation, and gave special thanks to the Senate Judiciary Committee for their hard work.

He then reflected on Judge Sotomayor's qualifications, and the historic nature of her confirmation:. The members of our Supreme Court are granted life tenure and are charged with the vital and difficult task of applying principles set forth at our founding to the questions and controversies of our time. They've scrutinized her record as a prosecutor, as a litigator, and as a judge.