U.S. Supreme Court

Burr won't support Sotomayor

bkrueger — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:35:17 -0400

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr says he is opposing the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, had said when Sotomayor was nominated he would consider her qualifications and adherence to the Constitution. He met with her in person last week, reports Barb Barrett.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sotomayor’s nomination Tuesday. The only Republican voting for her was U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina. Her nomination now goes to a vote in the full Senate.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, already has said that she’ll support Sotomayor.

Read Burr's full statement after the jump.

Hagan 'yes,' Burr not ready on Sotomayor

bniolet — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:46:59 -0400

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan plans to support Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, but U.S. Sen. Richard Burr isn’t yet ready to commit.

Sotomayor spent last week answering questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about her record. The committee will begin debate Tuesday on whether to recommend her. The full Senate, including Hagan and Burr, would then cast the final vote on her confirmation, Barb Barrett reports.

Burr spokesman David Ward said Monday that the Republican senator wants to ask Sotomayor a few more questions about her record. Burr is scheduled to meet with the Supreme Court nominee next week.

"Senator Burr is continuing to review Judge Sotomayor’s judicial record as well as her remarks at last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing," Ward said in a prepared statement. "He will be able to make a more thorough assessment of her qualifications after meeting with her next week and asking specific, substantive questions to ensure that she is committed to upholding the Constitution and the rights and freedoms it protects."

Hagan, a Democrat, said she supports the nominee.

"Justice Sotomayor said in her confirmation hearing that her underlying judicial philosophy is 'fidelity to the law,'" Hagan said in a prepared statement.

"She has an established record as a moderate judge whose decisions show a respect for precedent. In 1998, Sen. Jesse Helms voted for her confirmation to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which is based in New York. Based on her record and testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, I intend to support her confirmation to the United States Supreme Court."

Center praises Supreme Court ruling

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:37:52 -0400

Supporters of judicial campaign financing are citing a recent Supreme Court decision.

In a 5-4 decision in Caperton v. Massey, the high court ruled that a West Virginia Supreme Court justice should not have been involved in a case involving a coal-mining executive who spent more than $3 million to help get him elected.

The justice ruled in favor of his campaign donor, overturning a $50 million jury award.

The N.C. Center for Voter Education, which backed North Carolina's public financing for state Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges, said the case was a prime example of the problems with judges raising large sums of money on their own.

"Whether or not judges are actually biased in favor of a litigant who contributes to a campaign isn't the issue. Of more concern is the appearance that justice is for sale," said executive director Damon Circosta.

The center filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Caperton asking the Supreme Court to find a due process violation.

Sotomayor to visit Hagan

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:48:25 -0400

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan , a Greensboro Democrat, is among the senators being visited today by U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

The nominee is continuing her round of Senate visits this week, Barb Barrett reports.

Burr gives suggestions for judges, too

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:36:48 -0400

Republican Sen. Richard Burr also has sent some suggestions to the White House about whom to appoint to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court has four open seats, but just one sitting judge from North Carolina. State leaders have long argued that there should be more N.C. judges on the panel. Presidents typically seek input from a state's senators before making nominations, Barb Barrett reports.

Burr said in an interview he offered "a sufficient number" of names in response to an administration request, but he wouldn’t give an exact figure or reveal names because, he said, he doesn’t want to pressure the White House.

Still, Burr said, constituents can assume that his list leans more Democratic than Republican — because he understands the political winds have changed.

More after the jump.

Poll: N.C. split on Sotomayor

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:42:57 -0400

A poll shows North Carolinians split on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.

The survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling found 43 opposed confirming Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, 39 percent supported it and 18 percent were not sure.

"It's interesting that the state doesn't fit the overall conventional wisdom that this was a good pick by Obama," said president Dean Debnam in a statement.

Recent national polls have shown more voters thought Sotomayor was an excellent or good pick than a fair or poor one.

One reason for the split was that more Republicans opposed Sotomayor than Democrats favored her. Independents were mostly split.

The automated survey of 609 voters was conducted from May 28 to May 30. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.

The women's room

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:36:46 -0400

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan ran into Sonia Sotomayor in the women's room.

The Greensboro Democrat and Sens. Susan Collins and Barbara Boxer were using the facilities when the Supreme Court nominee came in today during a visit to Capitol Hill, MSNBC reports.

"There was a light-hearted conversation, they said, that women could also conduct official business in the restroom as men have for years," the new channel reported.

Dome Memo: Apple, Senate, Supreme

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:31:18 -0400

iLEGISLATURE: State legislators may rewrite the corporate tax law in a bid to lure Apple computer, which is looking for a spot to locate a $1 billion data center. The tax breaks could be worth about $3 million a year in the first years and eventually grow to $12.5 million a year. The bill passed the House this week but must go back to the Senate for final approval.

PRE-RACE WARMUP: Contenders for the 2010 elections continue to get shuffled. Democrats are mulling six candidates for U.S. Senate: Reps. Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre, state Sens. Malcolm Graham and Dan Blue, Iraq vet Cal Cunningham and Durham lawyer Kenneth Lewis. Meantime, Republicans lost first-round draft pick Mike Minter, who declined to run against Rep. Larry Kissell.

DUKING IT OUT: Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is taking heat for remarks she made at Duke University in 2005. An Appeals Court judge, she said the court is "where policy is made." Conservatives said that means she'll legislate from the bench; liberals said she simply meant interpreting vague laws. Forum moderator Erwin Chemerinsky said it's much ado about an "innocuous" remark.

IN OTHER NEWS: Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will hold a fundraiser in Charlotte in June. ... Mike Easley Jr. is working at the same law firm as Richard Vinroot, who ran against his father in 2000. ... Gov. Beverly Perdue said she trusts her son Garrett is not lobbying state legislators, despite his recent attendance at a big event. ... The N.C. Association of Educators says it's "at war" over the state budget.

Quick Hits

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:40:22 -0400

* North Carolina has its first Twitterversy: Can a Democratic operative Twitter under the name of the House Republican leader?

* Greensboro blogger Ed Cone notes an old video against filibustering Supreme Court nominees that may limit Sen. Richard Burr's options.

* N.C. Republican Party chair candidate Tom Fetzer declines to participate in an online questionnaire answered by his competitors.

* Federal prosecutors subpoena the state auditor's office to find out what it knows about how Mary Easley got her job at N.C. State University.

Chemerinsky defends Sotomayor

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:28:36 -0400

Erwin Chemerinsky heartily endorses Sonia Sotomayor.

The former Duke University law professor, who moderated a forum with the Supreme Court nominee in 2005, said he thinks she is "terrific for the Supreme Court and the future of constitutional law," in a blog post on The New Republic today.

Now the dean of the U.C.-Irvine law school, he also said criticism of her is misguided.

"I think that is much ado about nothing," he wrote in an e-mail to the Duke Chronicle. "Of course, judges' life experience influence how they see the issues and matters before them. Judge Sotomayor's statement was innocuous and true. I think that this is grasping at straws to try and paint her a liberal."

It's not clear that Chemerinsky is responding to the comment that the Court of Appeals "is where policy is made," however.

It sounds more like a defense of Sotomayor's remark during a speech at U.C.-Berkeley in 2001 that has also been criticized.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," she said.

Update: Chemerinsky e-mailed Dome with a more explicit defense.

"Judge Sotomayor's comment was innocuous and true," he wrote. "Appellate judges and Supreme Court Justices must make choices about the law that include consideration of policy issues. Every first year law student knows this. I am amazed that anyone is making anything of this comment."

Hat Tip: ZTracer