[ti:Sotomayor Likely to Gain Seat on US High Court ]
[by:51VOA.COM]
[00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS
[00:05.47]in VOA Special English.
[00:08.27]Judge Sonia Sotomayor appears
[00:11.32]headed for confirmation
[00:12.77]to the United States Supreme Court.
[00:15.77]The Senate Judiciary Committee
[00:18.22]held hearings this week
[00:20.17]to consider her nomination
[00:22.17]by President Obama.
[00:23.92]The nomination is expected to
[00:26.42]reach the full Senate for a vote
[00:30.69]before the Democratic-controlled
[00:32.99]Congress leaves for its August break.
[00:36.43]The Supreme Court begins its new term
[00:39.62]in October. Judge Sotomayor would
[00:43.41]replace retired Justice David Souter.
[00:46.82]She would be the first Hispanic
[00:49.07]and third woman ever to serve
[00:51.62]on the court.
[00:52.92]Some of the questions
[00:54.57]at the hearing dealt with
[00:56.61]comments she made
[00:58.33]in the past.
[00:59.73]Much attention has centered on
[01:02.23] a two thousand one speech
[01:04.54]when she said: "I would hope
[01:06.75]that a wise Latina woman
[01:09.05]with the richness of her experiences
[01:11.98]would more often than not reach
[01:15.38]a better conclusion than a white male
[01:18.51]who hasn't lived that life."
[01:21.11]She told the senators
[01:23.50]that she regretted the comments.
[01:26.00]She said she does
[01:27.81]"not permit personal views,
[01:30.10]sympathies or prejudices
[01:32.90]to influence the outcome of cases."
[01:36.23]SONIA SOTOMAYOR: "I do not
[01:38.47]believe that any ethnic, racial
[01:41.38]or gender group has an advantage
[01:44.65]in sound judging."
[01:46.39]She faced three days
[01:47.74]of intense questioning.
[01:49.58]Then the committee heard
[01:51.38]from a list of people invited
[01:53.58]by Democrats and Republicans.
[01:56.37]Some, like New York City
[01:58.48]Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
[02:00.08]came to support her.
[02:01.68]MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: "As a
[02:02.75]former prosecutor,
[02:04.14]commercial litigator,
[02:05.79]district court judge
[02:07.10]and appellate judge,
[02:08.20]she certainly brings a wealth
[02:09.65]of unique experience."
[02:11.60]Others, like Linda Chavez
[02:13.19]from the Center
[02:14.10]for Equal Opportunity,
[02:15.76]spoke against her.
[02:17.31]LINDA CHAVEZ: "The record
[02:18.61]is clear. Identity politics
[02:20.46]is at the core of Judge Sotomayor's
[02:22.71]self-definition."
[02:24.10]Another witness was Frank Ricci,
[02:26.65]a firefighter
[02:27.99]from New Haven, Connecticut.
[02:29.89]FRANK RICCI: "Americans
[02:30.55]have the right to go into
[02:32.04]our federal courts
[02:33.35]and have their cases judged based
[02:35.19]on the Constitution and our laws,
[02:37.44]not on politics or personal feelings."
[02:40.30]Frank Ricci was among a group
[02:42.29]of white and Hispanic firefighters
[02:44.58]who sued the city for discrimination.
[02:47.58]They were denied higher positions
[02:51.06]because not enough minorities
[02:54.30]had passed the tests.
[02:56.39]Judge Sotomayor and two other
[02:59.89]federal appeals court judges
[03:01.88]supported the city's decision.
[03:04.43]But the Supreme Court recently
[03:07.08]overturned that ruling.
[03:09.38]Judge Sotomayor says the ruling
[03:12.52]followed established law.
[03:15.02]Even two Republican senators agreed
[03:18.34]that her rulings have generally been
[03:21.38]in what they called the mainstream.
[03:24.23]Like past nominees,
[03:26.73]Judge Sotomayor avoided offering opinions
[03:30.28]on major issues in society.
[03:33.73]She said doing so could be seen
[03:36.98]as pre-judging cases
[03:39.32]that the Supreme Court might consider.
[03:42.45]She has began a federal judge
[03:45.05]for seventeen years.
[03:47.05]If confirmed,
[03:48.45]she will be the only one
[03:50.31]on the court who was a trial judge.
[03:53.70]Her hearing was not the only big story
[03:57.15]in Washington this week.
[03:59.10]President Obama has been urging Congress
[04:02.45]to pass health care legislation
[04:05.11]before its August recess.
[04:08.25]But he faces growing objections
[04:10.85]to the estimated costs.
[04:13.16]On Thursday the head of
[04:15.87]the Congressional Budget Office
[04:17.86]reported that current proposals
[04:20.45]would sharply expand federal spending
[04:24.11]on health care.
[04:26.16]The president, in a brief statement
[04:29.30]at the White House Friday afternoon,
[04:31.63]restated his goal of health care
[04:35.16]reform this year.
[04:37.35]And that's IN THE NEWS
[04:40.00]in VOA Special English,
[04:42.87]written by Brianna Blake.
[04:44.96]I'm Steve Ember.
END OF TRACK. "END OF TRACK." The two men bowed. "Whoever was that person you were talking to?" she enquired, as soon as they stood together. The took of triumph faded from her eyes, she had grown worn and weary. The roses were wilting on the walls, the lights were mostly down now. Hetty, looking in to see if anything was wanted, found herself driven away almost fiercely. I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their[112] speeches by name would have brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very commonplace business. "It certainly will be. Miss Widgeon," answered Maria, with strictly "company manners." "One who has never had a brother exposed to the constant dangers of army life can hardly understand how glad we all feel to have Si snatched from the very jaws of death and brung back to us." "Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?" persisted Harry. "Hurroo!" echoed Hennessey; "that's the ticket." "Come forward, keeper," continued the baron, "and state how these arrows came into your hands!" "Yes." HoMEJULIA¾©Ïã2018ÏÂÔØ
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