Sotomayor pressed on judicial temperament

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was grilled Tuesday about gun rights, abortion, her temperament and her past statements about race and gender.

On the the second day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on her nomination to the nation's highest court, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Sotomayor he wanted to find out "who are we getting as a nation?" He said he found her rulings from the bench "generally speaking left of center, but within the mainstream." But, he said, some of her speeches "just blow me away."

Sotomayor said she avoids being labeled.

"As I said, I look at law and precedent and discern its principles and apply it to the situation," she said, adding that while the Constitution is changed only by amendment, "what changes is society. What changes is what facts a judge may get presented."

When presented with lawyers' evaluations of her performance on the bench as someone who "abuses lawyers," "lacks judicial temperament," is "nasty to lawyers" and "can be a bit of a bully," Sotomayor answered that the 2nd Circuit is known for peppering lawyers and she does "ask tough questions at oral arguments."

"Lots of lawyers who are unfamiliar with the process in the 2nd Circuit find that tough bench difficult and challenging," she said. "And I believe that my reputation is ... such that I ask the hard questions, but I do it evenly for both sides."

Sotomayor also was pressed by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., about her controversial 2001 statements to Hispanic law students that she hoped "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion that a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Sotomayor said she had attempted a play on words an adage used by former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She described it as a rhetorical flourish that "fell flat."

"I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt, I do not believe that any racial, ethnic, gender group has any advantage in sound judgment," Sotomayor said.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, questioned Sotomayor closely on the federal right to bear arms. Sotomayor said she supports the Second Amendment.

She did not offer her personal stand on abortion but said a 1992 ruling reaffirmed Roe vs. Wade. Sotomayor said a Supreme Court decision allowing states to ban late-term abortions is precedent.