The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passes two bills that establish federal guidelines for data breach notifications.
– Two sweeping bills that would set new standards for data
breach notifications made their way out of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Nov. 5.
The committee voted yes on the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of
2009 (S.1490) and the Data Breach Notification Act (S.139). The vote means the
bill…
Sonia Sotomayor, US President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, is due to face a confirmation vote in the US Senate.
If confirmed, Ms Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic justice and only the third woman to sit on the court.
Observers expect Ms Sotomayor to win the vote comfortably.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the US, with the power to strike down unconstitutional laws. Once appointed, justices serve for life.
They are nominated by the president, but must receive approval from a majority of senators before they can take up their post.
‘Inspiring’ story
With his fellow Democrats holding a majority in the Senate, Mr Obama is not likely to face any difficulties getting his nominee confirmed.
All 60 Democratic senators are expected to vote for her, as well as a handful of Republicans.
Ms Sotomayor’s supporters say she has a reliable record – and they cite her "inspiring" life story.
RISE OF SONIA SOTOMAYORShe was born to poor Puerto Rican parents on a New York public housing project, rising to become a respected judicial scholar and judge.
But some Republicans claim Ms Sotomayer’s record of speeches – and some rulings – shows she allows her opinion to affect her decisions.
During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, she was asked repeatedly about a speech in which she had remarked that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion" than a white male judge.
Critics said the remark could have been perceived as racist, but Ms Sotomayor maintained the comments had been an attempted "play on words" that "fell flat".
Ms Sotomayor has also been criticised by conservatives for her dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit brought by white firefighters in Connecticut.
Her ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
Because she is replacing a retiring liberal justice – David Souter – correspondents say Ms Sotomayor is unlikely to alter the current political balance of the court.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46123000/jpg/_46123319_007712390-1.jpg" align="left" width="226" height="170" alt="Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 16 July 2009″ border=”0″ vspace=”4″ hspace=”4″>
A key Senate panel has voted in favour of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the US Supreme Court.
The majority-Democrat Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to back Ms Sotomayor.
Her nomination will now go to the full Senate, where she is expected to be confirmed as the court’s first Hispanic justice next week.
Her nomination has been vocally opposed by a chorus of Republicans who believe she is too liberal.
But correspondents say Ms Sotomayor is unlikely to alter the ideological balance on the court as she would replace retiring Justice David Souter, a liberal.
The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the US Constitution, and its nine members are given lifetime appointments, though they can voluntarily resign or retire.
It is called upon to rule on issues that spark some of the greatest controversy in US society – such as abortion, gun rights and national security issues.
Past probed
One Republican, Lindsey Graham, joined all 12 Democrats on the Committee in approving Ms Sotomayor’s nomination, which came after she and witnesses spent days testifying in front of the panel.
Ms Sotomayor, 55, responded cautiously to questions on these "hot-button issues" when questioned by the Committee – prompting some members to complain that they were unable to gauge fully her stance on them.
The powerful National Rifle Association has come out against Ms Sotomayor over her record on gun rights, though some commentators suggest she has made few definitive statements on the issue.
But her supporters say she has a reliable record – and they cite her "inspiring" rise from a New York public housing project to respected judicial scholar and justice.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
On Tuesday the Senate Judiciary Committee will convene to vote on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is expected to win approval on a “near party line” vote.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World New…
Having failed twice before to convince the U.S. Senate of the necessity for a national data breach notification standard, Sen. Patrick Leahy tees up the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act again.
– Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., rolled out legislation July 22 that
would establish national standards for data breach notifications to consumers.
The bill would also require companies and organizations that maintain personal
data to establish internal policies to prote…
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee has put off its vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor (SOHN’-ya soh-toh-my-YOR’) for one week after Republicans asked for a delay.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy says the v…
The two top officials on the Senate Judiciary Committee left niceties at the door when they held a joint appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) accused the Republican Party of playing “racial politics…
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
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Talk about wedge tactics. Take a look at this line of New Haven firefighters filing into the Sotomayor confirmation hearings Wednesday morning. (If you…
US Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has again been grilled over her comment that a "wise Latina" might make better rulings than a white male.
She was facing questions during the third day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Ms Sotomayor said she regretted that her remark several years ago had been misunderstood.
If, as expected, Ms Sotomayor is confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic Supreme Court judge.
Words ‘fell flat’
Judge Sotomayor, 55, was referring to this remark she made in 2001: "I would hope 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."
Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a former state judge and attorney general, asked her if she stood by the remark.
"I stand by the words ‘it fell flat’", she said, in reference to her response on Tuesday that the comment was a rhetorical flourish gone awry.
She added: "I understand that some people have understood them in a way that I never intended. And I would hope that, in the context of the speech, that they would be understood."
Sen Cornyn asked asking whether she would regret if her audience of students understood her to be saying that the quality of a judge depended on race, gender or ethnicity.
She said: "I would regret that."
Abortion
On a separate issue, Sen Cornyn asked her about a published report that administration officials have been seeking to reassure abortion rights groups concerned about her position on the issue.
Judge Sotomayor said neither President Barack Obama – who nominated her for the Supreme Court – nor anyone else in the administration asked her views on abortion rights before she was nominated for the Supreme Court.
"I was asked no question by anyone including the president about my views on any specific legal issue," she said.
Despite further questioning during the hearing, Ms Sotomayor refused to give her views on abortion rights.
On Thursday senators will question other witnesses about Ms Sotomayor’s record as a judge. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sonia Sotomayor is relying on her 17-year record as a federal judge to rebut criticism that she is concealing a liberal agenda that will show up if she is confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Sotomayor, the first Hispanic high court nominee, was set to return Wednesday to a cavernous Senate hearing room for [...]
Judge Sonia Sotomayor declared unequivocally on Tuesday that the right to choose an abortion, as determined by Roe v. Wade, was established as law by the Supreme Court. In the process, the Obama nominee left the clear impression that she would…
We expect a judge to merely call balls and strikes? Maybe so, maybe not. But we certainly don’t expect them to sympathize with one party…
US Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been speaking on the second day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
She defended comments that appeared to suggest a "wise Latina" could make better decisions than a white man.
The nominee said she did not believe that any racial or ethnic group had an advantage in sound judgment.
Nominated by the US president, Ms Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is confirmed.
‘Equal opportunity’
"The context of the words that I spoke have created a misunderstanding," Ms Sotomayor told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy.
RISE OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR"I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging," she said.
"I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences."
Her comments were in response to criticism of a 2001 speech in which she appeared to suggest a "wise Latina" would usually reach better conclusions than a white man without similar experiences.
During the first day of the hearings, on Monday, Ms Sotomayor, 55, told the committee that her personal story – of growing up in a poor New York neighbourhood to Puerto Rican parents, going to law school and rising to become an appeals court judge – was "uniquely American".
Confirmation hearings for a new Supreme Court justice provide one of Washington’s most imposing pieces of political theatre, correspondents say.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor and I can never forget the mutual experiences we endured as children of the Bronx and fans of the New York Yankees.
President Barack Obama’s choice for Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, is due before a Senate committee that will question her fitness for the role.
Ms Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is, as expected, confirmed in the post.
But Republican senators have indicated they will use the hearings to press her to explain past rulings and comments.
These include her remark that a "wise Latina" could reach better legal conclusions than a white man.
The hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee are due to begin at 1000 local time (1400GMT), with opening comments by the 12 Democratic and seven Republican senators.
RISE OF SONIA SOTOMAYORMs Sotomayor, 55, will then make a statement that is expected to recall her personal story of growing up in a poor New York neighbourhood to Puerto Rican parents, going to law school and rising to become an appeals court judge.
Senators are expected to begin questioning her on Tuesday in an attempt to find out more about her legal thinking. Both sides will also call witnesses.
Her critics have seized on some of her rulings, including one that white firefighters in Connecticut had not been unfairly denied promotions.
The Supreme Court last month overturned that decision, ruling by five votes to four that the firefighters had been unfairly discriminated against.
Balance unaltered
Some of Ms Sotomayor’s remarks have also provoked controversy, in particular in 2001 when she said: "I would hope 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."
Such comments, her critics say, suggest her decisions would stem from bias, empathy and emotion rather than strict interpretation of the law.
"She has criticised the idea that a woman and a man would reach the same result. She expects them to reach different results. I think that’s philosophically incompatible with the American system," Sen John Sessions, the senior Republican on the judiciary committee, told CBS television.
But Sen Patrick Leahy, who chairs the judiciary committee, insists that Ms Sotomayor is a "mainstream judge".
"She is a judge in which all Americans can have confidence. She has been a judge for all Americans and will be a justice for all Americans," he said.
Ms Sotomayor is expected to win confirmation to the nine-member Supreme Court that rules on key political and social issues, and is the final arbiter of the US constitution.
But as she would replace Justice David Souter, another liberal justice, the balance of the conservative-leaning court would not be significantly altered.
She would, however, be not only the first Hispanic justice but only the third woman in the history of the court.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Informed initially by their own experiences, these Latinas galvanized efforts to effect societal change that produced results far beyond identity politics. Each could serve as a worthy role model for Latina and non-Latina professionals.
Sessions Greets Sotomayor With “Wise Latina” Comment
WASHINGTON — The top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has greeted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor with skepticism.
Sen. Jeff Sessions on Monday cited Sotomayor’s much-publicized remarks about the notion that a …