Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

The committee is hearing from outside witnesses now.

14:21: The Attorney General of Arkansas is speaking with Senators now. Senator Sessions asking the AGAR about the handling of the Ricci case. Sessions asking “were you aware” questions to make speech about Ricci case. AGAR trying to argue with Sessions about the Ricci case. Says he agrees with dissents in that case. Sessions asks AGAR (that’s Attorney General of Arkansas) what he thinks about Sotomayor’s ruling on gun rights. Sessions asks if AGAR knows Heller was 5–4, separated by one vote. AGAR says he plans to join other case arguing that 2nd Amendment is incorporated, but he thinks Sotomayor’s statements are OK. Not worried about gun rights going away.

14:28: Schumer welcomes Mayor Bloomberg and DA Morgenthau. Bloomberg greets the senators. “Senator, Senator, Senator, Senator.” Bloomberg praising Sotomayor, discussing her record. NYC DA Robert Morgenthau being introduced. Morgenthau was born in 1919 and has served as NYC DA since 1975. That means he’s older than Justice Stevens and has been in his current office about as long. Morgenthau is talking about several cases prosecuted by Sotomayor. These cases already came up in Klobuchar’s questioning. Wade Henderson of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights reminds us of questions about Thurgood Marshall and NAACP’s LDEF.

14:47: Frank Ricci is up. Ricci talking about the difficulties of working as a firefighter. Ricci complains about short opinion in his case, noting it mentioned his dyslexia and implied the case was about him. Ricci is reading carefully, moving his finger along the paper as he goes. Now a statement from Ben Vargas, another New Haven firefighter. Says his case shows how Supreme Court decisions affect Americans. Vargas tells about how much time he spent studying, looking at photos of his children, whom he didn’t get to see much while studying. Vargas says in his profession there are no second chances, unlike judicial system. He says racial makeup doesn’t matter in his field.

15:00: Peter Kirsanow of U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Kirsanow also complaining about handling of Ricci case.

15:24: Sessions asks Vargas if he thinks other firefighters would have passed if they had studied as hard as he.

15:40: Graham says he appreciates the hard work done by the firefighters. Says he’d want Ricci fighting a fire at his house. Mayor Bloomberg says New York currently defending against lawsuit by DOJ because they didn’t throw out firefighter test with low minority scores.

15:58: Specter asks Ricci if he has any reason to think Sotomayor acted in anything other than good faith. Ricci says beyond his expertise. Specter asks Ricci if he has any reason to think Sotomayor acted in anything other than good faith. Ricci says beyond his expertise. Linda Chavez does think Sotomayor’s writings, work with PRLDEF indicates a preference to eliminate standardized testing.

16:29: Back from a short break. Third panel sworn in now. First up is former FBI Director (and former federal judge) Louis Freeh. Freeh recommends confirmation of Sotomayor and says he’s going to talk about her judicial experience. Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, speaks now. Supporting Sotomayor. Canterbury is impressed Sotomayor graduated from Yale and went to a low-paying prosecutor job. Canterbury says he’s not worried about losing his Second Amendment rights.

16:46: David Cone is talking about Sotomayor saving baseball.

17:07: David Kopel, blogger at http://volokh.com/, is up. Kopel’s argument for why 7th Circuit doesn’t back up Sotomayor’s interpretation seems to be that the 7th Circuit was explained more. Now we get Ilya Somin, also blogger at hhttp://volokh.com/. Somin is REALLY excited to be here. Somin says Sotomayor wrote in Didden that she’d have ruled the same way even if the statute of limitations had not expired.

17:47: Fourth panel. We’re down to Klobuchar and Sessions only.

18:27: Nick Rosenkranz, whose class I took at Georgetown, is up. Rosenkranz, like Professor McGinnis, is talking about (mis)use of foreign law. Rosenkranz encourages people to see the original Constitution at the National Archives. [I would, but the line is always really long.]

18:56: Some back-and-forth between Professor Rosenkranz and Senator Klobuchar on whether Sotomayor used foreign law. Microphones were off, so I’ll have to check the transcript.

19:07: Final panel up. Senators Kaufman, Sessions, Whitehouse, Specter are here.

19:39: Congressman Serrano says that there are many watch parties in his district, the Bronx.

19:45: Sessions unsurprisingly wants to talk to David Rivkin about national security. Sessions asks Rivkin about claims that Congress has denied habeas corpus to detainees. Rivkin agrees habeas was never intended for them. Sessions asks Halbrook whether Maloney decision will need to be reversed or 2nd Amendment doesn’t apply to states. Halbrook agrees.

19:54: Whitehouse indicates he wants to quibble with Halbrook. Whitehouse says that for 220 years, Supreme Court didn’t recognize any individual right to bear arms, then bare majority recognized. Whitehouse says Court may choose to apply Second Amendment to states, but hasn’t decided that yet. Whitehouse says he doesn’t want to create atmosphere where a nominee would walk into a “volley of fire” unless announces intent to expand Second Amendment. Whitehouse says a cautious judge would be inclined not to expand Heller, then let Supreme Court expand. Whitehouse doesn’t want to tell nominees that they need to signal how they’re going to rule if they want to be confirmed. Sessions responds, saying it’s fair to ask nominees about cases they’ve decided. Sessions says he thinks the “average American” thinks the text of the Second Amendment gives an absolute right, contrasted with First Amendment’s mention of “Congress.”

20:02: Sessions, complimenting Kaufman on his temporary chairmanship, says “Who needs Pat Leahy?” Kaufman thanking panels, audience, senators. Kaufman says Supreme Court nomination is second only to decision to go to war in importance.

20:04: The hearing is adjourned.