Law and Courts

46 percent of Americans would vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, a new poll released Friday found.

A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll said that a plurality of voters would support Sotomayor's nomination if they had a vote in the Senate. 32 percent said they would oppose the nominee, while 22 percent said they did not know how they would vote.

Also of note was the poll's finding that the now-often-repeated quote by Sotomayor discussing the role of race and gender in her decisionmaking is of little concern to most Americans, though many said they disagreed with the sentiment.

29 percent of those polled said Sotomayor's remarks should stop her from serving on the court, while 67 percent said it shouldn't.

However, when read Sotomayor's actual quote, 58 percent of Americans said they disagreed with the sentiment of the remarks, compared to 32 percent who agreed.

Find the whole poll here.

Bush 41 is making all kinds of news today. In addition to skydiving to celebrate his birthday, he's also "leaping" to the defense of Sonia Sotomayor.

The elder Bush, who nominated Sotomayor to be a federal judge in 1991, said conservatives should back off claims that the nominee is a racist.

"And she was called by somebody a racist once," Bush told CNN. "That's not right. I mean that's not fair. It doesn't help the process. You're out there name-calling. So let them decide who they want to vote for and get on with it."

Recent polls indicate that voters are wary of heated rhetoric against Sotomayor, suggesting GOP may face a backlash if Senate Republicans are perceived to be making unfair attacks on Sotomayor.

Republicans will risk their standing with voters--especially Latino voters--if they attack Sonia Sotomayor too strongly, a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll finds.

37% of respondents (and 42% of Latinos) said they would think less of the GOP if Senate Republicans "overwhelmingly oppose" Sotomayor.

24% of respondents (and 20% of Latinos) said opposition would improve the image of the party.

But the survey also found that Republicans have an opportunity to define Sotomayor in the public's view. If done more tactfully than in recent week, such a strategy could make opposition much easier.

To wit: 55% of Americans said they haven't heard enough about Sotomayor to form an opinion of her. Nevertheless, 54% say she should be confirmed.

All in all, the poll does not give Senate Republicans any clearer a picture about how to take Sotomayor to task without coming off as obstructionists.

As J. Taylor Rushing reported earlier, Senate Republicans are claiming that Sonia Sotomayor's questionnaire for the Judiciary Committee was incomplete.

Now, all seven Republicans on the committee have penned a letter to Sotomayor asking for additional information.

According to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill, Republicans are asking for, among other things, the following materials/explanations:

1. Clarification for some of her job titles
2. Articles she edited while working for the Yale Law Review
3. Court documents that Sotomayor claimed in her questionnaire were not "available for public dissemination."
4. Information on cases she tried as an Assistant District Attorney
5. Transcripts from her oral arguments as an appellate lawyer
6. Explanation for why her membership in the Belizean Grove, an elite, all women's group that Sotomayor joined last year, doesn't violate the judicial code of conduct, which forbids discriminating on the basis of sex.

Read the whole letter here, and Sotomayor's original questionnaire here. Whether the GOP complaints are accurate or not, look fo Republicans to seize on the alleged ommissions as evidence that Democrats are rushing Sotomayor through the vetting process.

Team Obama is coming up with a novel way for supporters to line up behind Sonia Sotomayor: sign her "virtual cast."

The SCOTUS nominee fractured her ankle last week, and now Organizing for America has Twittered a call for virtual signatures on her cast:

On Monday Supreme Court Nominee Judge Sotomayor fractured her ankle. Sign her virtual cast: http://bit.ly/nBsg0

The link goes to an Organizing for America website where supporters can enter their name and a note for Sotomayor's cast.

The sample signatures include messages like "good," "court," and "keep." Not really sure what that's all about...

(cross-posted to Twitter Room)

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) came to the defense of Sonia Sotomayor today, saying he doesn't hold her "wise Latina" remarks against her. In fact, he supports them.

"For someone who is of Latin background, personally, I understand what she is trying to say," Martinez said after meeting with Sotomayor today. "Which is, the richness of her experience forms who she is. It forms who I am."

I believe Martinez is the first Republican senator to actively defend Sotomayor. This could be one of those symbolic turning points.

Martinez also said he expects Sotomayor to be confirmed "with pretty good numbers."

Vice President Biden called some of the criticism about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's background "ridiculous" at a White House event with law enforcement groups and officials to support her Supreme Court nomination.

"You know, it's good to see all of you here, the vast majority of the major law enforcement groups in this country helping us bring that record to light," Biden told the crowd. "All of you here, your support for what we're doing, I believe, is going to go a long way to putting to rest some of the ridiculous statements made about the judge and put into perspective what a remarkable woman she will be, a remarkable judge she will be on the Supreme Court."

Among those in attendance were the legendary New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Miami Police Chief John Timoney, and the director of the National District Attorneys Association.

Biden's statement represent a somewhat rare, official acknowledgement of some conservatives' criticism of Sotomayor's background. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh have been among those to prominently question Sotomayor's views on race and gender, and how they influence her professional work.

"I just want to say to all the law enforcement organizations represented and that I referenced here today, I truly appreciate you having the moxie to stand up in the face of this stuff and say, look, this woman is the real deal," Biden said.

An Indiana pension fund suing to prevent Chrysler's government-backed sale to Italian automaker Fiat urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to take all the time it needs to ponder the case.

Lawyers for the pensioners, who argue the restructuring plan previously organized by the Obama administration shortchanges their interests, pounced on a statement issued by Fiat's CEO in reaction to the court's stay in Chrysler's sale.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told Bloomberg News yesterday that the automaker would "never" walk away from the deal with Chrysler, despite having the option to abandon the deal by June 15th if a sale has not been finalized by that point.

"The Debtors (and the United States) have advanced the position throughout this case ... that the section 363 Sale at issue here had to close before June 15 or Fiat would exercise its right to withdraw and the entire transaction would collapse," lawyers for the Indiana fund wrote in a brief filed Tuesday. "The courts below relied on such arguments and testimony in moving this case forward at an unprecedented pace."

"The Indiana Pensioners respectfully submit that the risk of termination by Fiat if the transaction does not close by June 15 no longer provides a basis for driving the timing of these proceedings," the memo added, which was principally offered by Indiana Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher.

Sonia Sotomayor continues her Capitol Hill charm offensive today, broken ankle and all.

Her schedule today includes:

Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)

Senator Roland Burris (D-Ill.)

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)

Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.)

Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)

Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla.)

Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)*

Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

* Ben Nelson made news last week for announcing that he was "troubled" by some of Sotomayor's past statements. Keep an eye out for whether he softens that position after meeting with her today.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg threw a wrench into Chrysler's government-backed merger with Italian automaker Fiat, issuing a stay in the sale pending Supreme Court review.

"IT IS ORDERED that the orders of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, case No. 09-50002, dated May 31 and June 1, 2009, are stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court," Ginsburg wrote in an order released late Monday afternoon.

The court will now take up a vote in closed session over whether to accept the lawsuit by Indiana bondholders to halt the deal engineered by the Obama administration. Four justices would have to vote to hear the appeal of lower courts' decisions to proceed with the deal.

Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), whose district includes Chrysler's corporate headquarters, condemned the bondholders' lawsuit late Monday.

"It is quite clear that Indiana's case is not in the best interest of the people of Indiana," he said. "Other stakeholders, including other secured lenders and Chrysler's autoworkers, accepted shared sacrifice because they recognized their interest was better served keeping Chrysler alive rather than forcing liquidation."