Opinion: Sotomayor hearings: Orrin Hatch notes Obama’s role in holding up Brown nomination

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Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, spoke after Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Right off the bat, he criticized then-Sen. Barack Obama, who was among the many Democrats who held up the nomination of former California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the federal bench for nearly two years. (She was finally confirmed in 2005.)

Hatch vowed to “show respect other by taking her entire record seriously.”

However, he said, “Today we are urged to ignore Judge Sotomayor’s words and focus only on her judicial decisions.”

By this time, Sotomayor’s grin had vanished. She sat with her eyebrows knit, looking very serious and almost sad.

Hatch admitted that “some things said about Judge Sotomayor have been intemperate and unfair.”

But, he added, “There must be a vigorous debate about the kind of judge America needs, because nothing less than our liberty is at stake. … Is judicial impartiality a duty or an option? ... Judge Sotomayor’s nomination raises these and other issues. … I look forward to a respectful and energetic debate.”

He concluded by adding, “Judge, I am proud of you and I wish you well.”

-- Robin Abcarian

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