Sotomayor quits all-woman club

WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- Sonia Sotomayor, a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has resigned from the all-woman Belizean Grove Club, the Senate Judiciary Committee said Friday.

The letter in which Sotomayor said she did not want her club membership to "distract anyone from my qualifications and my record" was one of a number of documents released by the committee, The Hill reported.

The Belizean Grove is a female counterpart to the men-only Bohemian Grove, a group of powerful men that meets once a year in Northern California. Sotomayor said she did not believe her membership violated the Judicial Code of Ethics or that the club is discriminatory.

Sotomayor also sent the committee her calendar from the years 1992 to 1995. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the ranking Republican on the committee, has said he would delay the confirmation if he does not get information about Sotomayor's speeches.

Republicans have gone after her because of a phrase she used in a 2001 speech at Berkeley where she suggested a "wise Latina woman" might be a better judge than a white man.