The Senate Judiciary Committee held its second day of hearings on the appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court seat vacated by the retirement of Justice David Souter. 

In the first round of questioning, senators were allotted 30 minutes each. Part 2 contained questions by Senator Sessions and Senator Kohl. Senator Sessions focused on Judge Sotomayor’s previous statements on the role of personal experience and beliefs in judicial decision-making, the impact of appellate court rulings on public policy, and her decision in the Ricci v. DeStefano case. Senator Kohl focused on various Supreme Court precedents, the doctrine of Stare Decisis, privacy rights, and televising Supreme Court proceedings. In response to a question by Senator Sessions about a previous speech in which she said she hoped a wise Latina woman would make better decisions than a white male, she said that the inspirational speech “fell flat” and that she understood how her remarks could be viewed as derogatory.

Further questioning continued on subsequent parts.