Republican senators delay panel vote on Sotomayor; Judiciary Committee to act July 28

July 27th, 2009 Grassley to oppose SotomayorWASHINGTON — The No. 2 Republican on the Judiciary Committee says he'll vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

July 27th, 2009 GOP Sen. Sessions to oppose SotomayorWASHINGTON — The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday he'll vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, siding with his party's leaders against the judge who's on a fast track to becoming the first Hispanic justice. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., weighed in on President Barack Obama's first high court choice the day before his panel is scheduled to vote on her nomination.

July 26th, 2009 Ala. senator mum on his decision about SotomayorNASHVILLE, Tenn. — The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he has made up his mind on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, but he's not ready to make his decision public.

July 24th, 2009 Utah's Hatch opposes Sotomayor nominationSALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says he will vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

July 24th, 2009 GOP Sen. Cornyn to vote against SotomayorWASHINGTON — Republican Sen. John Cornyn, the head of his party's Senate campaign arm, said Friday he'll vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, siding with GOP leaders and conservatives who are lining up against President Barack Obama's nominee to be the first Hispanic justice.

July 21st, 2009 GOP Sen. Collins to support Sotomayor for courtWASHINGTON — An aide to Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins says Collins will vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

July 20th, 2009 GOP, divided on Sotomayor, won't drag out debateWASHINGTON — Senate Republicans, divided over whether to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice, aren't planning a drawn-out floor debate on her nomination. GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee plan to block a panel vote scheduled for Tuesday, delaying the committee's action on President Barack Obama's first high court nominee until July 28.

July 19th, 2009 Hearings fail to sway Sessions to Sotomayor's sideWASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate committee reviewing Sonia Sotomayor's nomination said Sunday her testimony did not settle his concerns about elevating her to the Supreme Court. "I was troubled by a number of the things the nominee has said, a number of the rulings she has made," said Alabama Sen.

July 19th, 2009 Sessions remains troubled by Sotomayor's recordWASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he remains troubled by some of Sonia Sotomayor's remarks and rulings. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama says he isn't ready to say whether he will vote for or against President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court.

July 16th, 2009 Democrats to set first Sotomayor vote next weekWASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman says he'll set a vote in his panel next week on confirming Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy says the vote will be Tuesday unless committee Republicans object.

July 16th, 2009 Sotomayor testimony completedWASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has completed three days of answering questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel's top Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, said he expects a Senate floor vote to come before the August recess.

July 6th, 2009 GOP senator: Will race infect Sotomayor rulings?WASHINGTON — A top Republican senator said Monday that he wants to find out whether Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would let racial bias affect her decisions as a justice. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he assumes Sotomayor understood and supported the stance of a civil rights group she advised in the 1980s that brought several race discrimination lawsuits for minorities who challenged jobs or promotions given to white employees.

July 1st, 2009 Advocacy group sending Sotomayor papers to SenateWASHINGTON — A Puerto Rican civil rights leader said Tuesday he was ready to start sending a trove of documents from Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's past to the Senate panel considering her nomination. Cesar Perales, the head of the legal advocacy group LatinoJustice PRLDEF said he'd send the Judiciary Committee minutes of meetings Sotomayor participated in as a board member of the group from 1980 until 1992, as well as pleadings from cases it handled while Sotomayor headed the board's litigation committee.

June 28th, 2009 GOP leader says time needed for Sotomayor recordsWASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday the committee preparing for hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor needs time to review 300 boxes of records that recently turned up in connection with her work for a legal advocacy group. McConnell, R-Ky., said the Senate Judiciary Committee needs to examine the materials from the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, now known as LatinoJustice PRLDEF.

June 5th, 2009 GOP leader not ruling out blocking SotomayorWASHINGTON — The Senate's top Republican said Friday that it's "way too early to know" whether his party will try to block a vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation. Sen. Mitch McConnell appeared to break with others in his party who have said they don't foresee using Senate rules to try to stop President Barack Obama's first high court nominee.