Any nomination for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court deserves careful review by the Senate, write Heritage's Ed Meese and Robert Alt about the pending deliberations about Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Nominees should be judged by a common standard: Will they apply the Constitution of the United States and the law as it is written and according to its original meaning, or will they use the lifetime appointment to enact policy preferences from the bench?

Since her nomination by President Barack Obama, she has received fierce criticism for a number of her public statements and court opinions that reveal serious concerns about her judicial philosophy, fairness on the bench, and fidelity to the Constitution.'

She has questioned whether judges can be impartial, displayed a tendency to completely ignore or bury arguments she disfavors, and in several cases denied rights that are specifically protected by the Constitution while giving little or no justification thereof.

Heritage's Deborah O'Malley and Robert Alt have proposed questions on ten different topics that should be vigorously pursued by senators during the hearings.

On Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at 6:00 pm EDT, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) joined President Reagan's Attorney General, Edwin Meese, chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, via live tele-townhall to share their thoughts on the Sotomayor confirmation hearings and the proper role of a Supreme Court Justice.' Listen to the call now.

We will be updating this page regularly with Heritage commentary, primary documents, and analysis by outside scholars.

Statement from Ed Meese and Robert Alt | 'Advice and Consent' Takes Time

Heritage Commentary

July 20, 2009
Tax, Spend and Disarm the Public
By Brian Darling

In May, President Barack Obama admitted, "The long-term deficit and debt that we have accumulated is unsustainable." This is the same President who railroaded through ...

July 16, 2009
Sotomayor and the Sordid Business of Race
By Hans A. von Spakovsky

The Republican senators questioning Sonia Sotomayor about her decision in the Ricci v. New Haven case have done a fair job detailing the legal issues. ...

July 14, 2009
Americans Deserve American Laws
By Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.

When a Supreme Court justice decides a case, should he or she look exclusively to the Constitution and U.S. laws? Or should foreign policies or ...

July 13, 2009
Sotomayor's Full Court Press
By Robert Alt

Tomorrow, the Senate begins confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. Lawmakers have a duty to ask tough questions and to seek ...

July 13, 2009
Justice is not a popularity contest, Judge Sotomayor
By Steven Groves

Is a U.S. Supreme Court judgeship big enough to suit Sonia Sotomayor? Or will she settle for nothing less than a seat on the Supreme ...

June 30, 2009
Sotomayor and racial identity politics
By Michael Gonzalez

Sonia Sotomayor has broken quite a few barriers in her life. If she is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice--as seems likely--she will become the ...

June 9, 2009
The Constitution must trump racial politics
By Israel Ortega

Standing atop of the U.S. Supreme Court sits Lady Justice dressed in a Greco-Roman garment. She wears a blindfold, signifying an essential element of our ...

June 4, 2009
Bad On Guns
By Brian Darling

President Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, 2nd Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor, owes the American people an explanation on her view of the Second ...

June 1, 2009
Senators must contest Sotomayer's view that empathy, ethnicity can overrule law
By Robert Alt

In choosing a Supreme Court justice, President Obama--like any president--should look for someone who will apply the Constitution and the laws as written, and interpret ...

May 28, 2009
Sotomayor's and Obama's Identity Politics Leave Blind Justice at Risk: Can Sotomayor keep her biases in check? For the Constitution's sake, we'd better find out
By Robert Alt

My late constitutional law professor once offered the following hypothetical about a fishing dispute that made its way to court. On one side were Native ...

May 27, 2009
Sotomayor Doesn't Live Up to Obama's Word
By Deborah O'Malley

President Obama wants Second Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill Justice David Souter's seat on the Supreme Court. But her nomination paints a grim picture ...

May 13, 2009
The Obama Standard
By Brian Darling

Conservatives agree with the Senator Obama of 2006 and hope that President Obama's nominee to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court receives ...

May 4, 2009
Why Souter Matters
By Robert Alt

Following Justice David Souter's retirement announcement, pundits of all stripes came to a common conclusion: it just doesn't matter. Given Souter's reputation for voting with ...

October 29, 2008
Obama's Ideas for a Radical Court
By Robert Alt

In a 2001 radio interview that's just come to light, Barack Obama discussed the Supreme Court's role in redistributing wealth. Call it Obama's "Joe the ...

October 25, 2008
Misunderstanding the Role of Judges
By Deborah O'Malley

In his recent endorsement of Barack Obama, Colin Powell mused: "I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's ...

October 24, 2008
A bad Biden benchmark
By Deborah O'Malley

Twenty-one years ago today, a cabal of liberal senators prevented one of the greatest legal minds of the 20th century from sitting on the Supreme ...

October 9, 2008
Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places
By Deborah A. O'Malley

Some Supreme Court justices have taken to using international law as a reference point to interpret provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Yale Law School Dean ...

June 24, 2008
A Court Divided: Election Likely to Tip the Balance
By Robert Alt

All eyes will be on the Supreme Court this week, as it closes its term by handing down some of the most anticipated decisions of ...

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