PRESIDENT BARACK Obama’s first supreme court nominee moved a step closer to confirmation yesterday when the senate judiciary committee decided to back the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor.
The 13-6 vote broke down broadly along party lines, with all Democrats on the committee backing the nomination and all but one of the Republicans, South Carolina’s Lindsay Graham, voting No.
The nomination is likely to go before the full senate next week and Ms Sotomayor is almost certain to be confirmed as the first Hispanic supreme court justice in US history.
Democrats heaped praise on Ms Sotomayor, defending her against conservative charges that issues of race and gender could bias her judgments.
“There’s not one example — let alone a pattern — of her ruling based on bias or prejudice or sympathy,” said judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy.
“She has administered justice without favouring one group of persons over another.”
During the confirmation hearings, Republicans repeatedly questioned Ms Sotomayor on a statement she had made to a student audience a few years ago that she hoped that a “wise Latina” would make better rulings than a white, male judge.
The National Rifle Association launched a campaign against her nomination, threatening to target senators who voted in favour of confirming her.
Alabama’s Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the committee, said Ms Sotomayor’s speeches and some of her rulings suggested that her personal opinions could influence her decisions.
“In speech after speech, year after year, Judge Sotomayor set forth a fully formed, I believe, judicial philosophy that conflicts with the great American tradition of blind justice and fidelity to the law as written,” he said.
Explaining his decision to break ranks with fellow Republicans, Mr Graham pointed to the historic nature of Ms Sotomayor’s nomination.
“I’m deciding to vote for a woman I would not have chosen,” he said. “America has changed for the better with her selection.”
Ms Sotomayor must now be confirmed by a simple majority of the entire senate, where Democrats control 60 out of 100 seats. If, as looks certain, she is confirmed, she will become one of only two women on the nine-person supreme court.
Mr Obama nominated Ms Sotomayor to replace David Souter, a liberal voice on the court and her appointment will not change the court’s ideological balance.
Many recent decisions have been decided by a majority of five to four, with Justice Anthony Kennedy often providing the swing vote between liberals and conservatives.