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President Obama鈥檚 Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, received an important stamp of approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, pushing her one step closer to her expected confirmation by the full Senate next week.

The vote was 13 to 6, with only one of the committee鈥檚 seven Republicans announcing he would cross the partisan divide to vote for Ms. Sotomayor. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he would not have nominated Judge Sotomayor if he were president, but that he came away from the hearings feeling she was well qualified to serve as a justice.

鈥淭his is the first Latino woman in the history of the United States to be selected for the Supreme Court. Now that is a big deal,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f she, by being on the court, will inspire young women 鈥� particularly Latino women 鈥� to seek a career in the law, that would be a good thing,鈥� Senator Graham said. 鈥淎merica has changed for the better with her selection.鈥�

Upon confirmation by the full Senate, Sotomayor would make history becoming the first Hispanic and only the third woman to sit on the nation鈥檚 highest court. Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican heritage.

As part of its constitutional responsibility to provide 鈥渁dvice and consent鈥� regarding presidential nominees, the Judiciary Committee examined Sotomayor鈥檚 17-year record as a federal trial and appeals court judge. Committee members also studied her speeches and other statements made about the law, and her prior experience as a prosecutor and corporate lawyer in New York.

The committee conducted four days of hearings, including two days questioning Sotomayor herself.

The Republicans who voted against her nomination said they remained troubled by comments and speeches she鈥檇 given suggesting to them that she believes that the race, gender, and ethnicity of a judge can, and should, play an important role in judicial decisions. During the hearings Sotomayor told the senators she believes in fidelity to the law.

Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said critics of Judge Sotomayor were wrong to focus on her speeches. He said her record as a judge is the best measure of what type of justice she would become. 鈥淚n her 17 years on the bench there is not one example, let alone a pattern, of her ruling with bias or sympathy,鈥� he said.

The top-ranking Republican on the committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, was not persuaded. 鈥淚n speech after speech, year after year, Judge Sotomayor set forth a fully formed judicial philosophy that conflicts with the American ideal of blind justice to the law,鈥� he said. In her most important judicial rulings, he said, she issued unacceptably short and cursory decisions that favored a 鈥渓iberal pro-government ideology against individuals attempting to assert their constitutional rights.鈥�

In supporting Sotomayor, Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York emphasized Sotomayor鈥檚 rise from a Bronx housing project to a nomination to the highest court in the land. 鈥淚t is a great American story. It will inspire Americans of all races and creeds and colors to reach further and aim higher,鈥� he said.

The timing of the confirmation vote is important. If confirmed, Sotomayor would have roughly four weeks to move to Washington, organize her chambers, hire law clerks, and prepare for a special Supreme Court session set for Sept. 9. That case involves a challenge to a portion of the federal campaign finance laws authorizing restrictions on corporate spending that might influence imminent elections.

The high court鈥檚 next term begins in early October.
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