Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I am grateful to the senior Senator from Minnesota for her kind words and thank her for her extraordinary advocacy on behalf of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The Senator's words and real belief in her contribution is extremely important.

I thank the Senator.

I stand today to speak on behalf of Judge Sonia Sotomayor and lend my strong support to her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Sotomayor will bring the wisdom of all her experiences to bear as she applies the rule of law, and will grace the Supreme Court with the intelligence, judgment, clarity of thought and determination of purpose that we have come to expect from all great Justices on the Court.

Much has been made of Judge Sotomayor's remarkable personal story. There has been great import afforded to the characterization of a ``wise Latina.'' Clearly, the life lessons and experiences of Justices inform their decisions as has been noted during the confirmation process time and time again.

Justice Antonin Scalia discussed his being a racial minority, in his understanding of discrimination. Justice Clarence Thomas indicated that his exposure to all facets of society gave him the ``ability to stand in the shoes of other people across a broad spectrum of this country.''

Justice Samuel Alito described his parents growing up in poverty as a learning experience and his family's immigration to the United States as influencing his views on immigration and discrimination.

As Americans, we honor the diversity of our society. As our esteemed jurists have noted, the construct of the court is shaped by the diverse experiences and viewpoints of each of its Justices. However, Sonia Sotomayor's ethnicity or gender alone does not indicate what sort of Supreme Court Justice she will be. Rather, it is Judge Sotomayor's experience and record that more fully informs us.

The breadth and depth of Judge Sotomayor's experience makes her uniquely qualified for the Supreme Court. Her keen understanding of case law and the importance of precedent is derived from working in nearly every aspect of our legal system--as a prosecutor, corporate litigator, civil rights advocate, trial judge and appellate judge. With confirmation, Judge Sotomayor would bring to the Supreme Court more Federal judicial experience than any justice in 100 years and more overall judicial and more overall judicial experience than any justice in 70 years.

As a prosecutor, Judge Sotomayor fought the worst of society's ills--from murder to child pornography to drug trafficking. Judge Sotomayor's years as a corporate litigator exposed her to all facets of commercial law including, real estate, employment, banking, contracts and agency law. Her pro bono work on behalf of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund demonstrates her commitment to our constitutional rights and the core value that equality is an inalienable American right.

On the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Sotomayor presided over roughly 450 cases, earning a reputation as a tough, fair and thoughtful jurist.

As an appellate judge, Sonia Sotomayor has participated in over 3,000 panel decisions and authored roughly 400 published opinions. As evidence of the integrity of her decisions and adherence to precedence, only 7 cases were brought up for review by the Supreme Court, of reversing only 3 of her authored opinions, 2 of which were closely divided.

In an analysis of her record, done by the Brennan Center for Justice, the numbers overwhelmingly indicate that Judge Sotomayor is solidly in the mainstream of the Second Circuit.

Judge Sotomayor has been in agreement with her colleagues more often than most--94 percent of her constitutional decisions have been unanimous.

She has voted with the majority in over 98 percent of constitutional cases.

When Judge Sotomayor has voted to hold a challenged governmental action unconstitutional, her decisions have been unanimous over 90 percent of the time.

Republican appointees have agreed with her decision to hold a challenged governmental action unconstitutional in nearly 90 percent of cases.

When she has voted to overrule a lower court or agency, her decisions have been unanimous over 93 percent of the time.

Republican appointees have agreed with Judge Sotomayor's decision to overrule a lower court decision in over 94 percent of cases.

Judge Sotomayor's record is a testament to her strict adherence to precedence--her unyielding belief in the rule of law and the Constitution. I strongly support Judge Sotomayor's nomination and firmly believe she will prove to be one of the finest justices in American history. I urge my fellow Senators to join me in voting for her confirmation.

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