President Barack Obama’s choice for US Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, is facing a final day of questioning at her confirmation hearing.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is also calling witnesses to question them about her record as a judge.

Ms Sotomayor has so far avoided having the "meltdown" one of her critics said was needed to derail her confirmation.

A full Senate vote is expected in early August. Ms Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

During the questioning this week, Ms Sotomayor vigorously defended her impartiality as a judge.

On Wednesday, she was asked again to explain her comment that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life".

And again Ms Sotomayor insisted that it was a rhetorical flourish gone awry.

She has also been careful in responses to questions about any major issue that could come before her as a justice, such as abortion and gun law.

Thursday’s hearing sees a variety of witnesses called, including Frank Ricci, a white firefighter from New Haven, Connecticut.

His case has figured prominently in discussion about Ms Sotomayor’s suitability to serve as a Supreme Court justice.

Mr Ricci was among a group of firefighters who took a promotion exam, only to see the results dismissed by city authorities after no African-Americans and only two Hispanics did well enough to win promotion.

Ms Sotomayor and fellow appeals court judges ruled that Mr Ricci and his colleagues had not been unfairly denied promotions, a ruling subsequently overruled by the Supreme Court.

After the hearings by the judiciary committee, a full vote in the Senate is expected in early August.

The Democrats have enough votes to block any Republican attempts to stop her confirmation.</p

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