Senate Judiciary panel OKs Sotomayor

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday approved Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, moving the process to the full Senate.

The 13-6 vote fell along party lines, with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina breaking ranks with Republicans to vote for Sotomayor's nomination.

If confirmed by the full Senate, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and third woman on the nation's highest court.

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the panel's ranking Republican member, said he couldn't vote for Sotomayor because he didn't think she could set aside her personal opinions and biases, an observation voiced by several Republicans who said they opposed her nomination.

Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he did not think Sotomayor could put on the "judicial blindfold" or "set aside her personal biases and decide cases in an impartial manner."

Graham said he was voting for a woman "that I would not have chosen. But as hearings went on, that decision got easier, not harder, for me. ... I gladly (will) give her my vote."

Graham said if Sotomayor's presence on the bench inspired women, especially Latino women, to pursue a career in law "that would be a good thing."

"She comes to the bench without arrogance and without an agenda," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who introduced Sotomayor to the committee during its confirmation hearings.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who as a Republican was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Sotomayor's 17 years on the bench provides enough evidence "that she is well qualified."

"While there are concerns about the way she answered our questions, we've got a lot (of evidence) to decide," Specter said.

Senators from both sides of the aisle lamented the process for essentially blocking Supreme Court nominees from presenting their opinions on judicial matters that may -- or may not -- reach the Supreme Court.

On the same day as the Senate panel action, the Republican National Lawyers Association said it opposed Sotomayor's nomination in a letter to Democratic and Republican Senate leaders.

"The RNLA believes Judge Sotomayor does not believe in and will not adhere to the fundamental principle that justice must be blind and impartial," the letter read.