Background:
Responses of Sotomayor to Senate Judiciary Questionnaire
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-158416.html

Republicans ask Sotomayor for more documents

Jun 10, 3:38 PM (ET)

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Republicans are asking Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to cough up more documents from her past. The GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee say Sotomayor's response to a detailed questionnaire was "incomplete." In a letter to Sotomayor Wednesday, they're requesting a long list of additions they say they need to evaluate her record.

The request comes as Republicans are accusing Democrats of trying to rush Sotomayor's nomination through the Senate.

The senators are asking for articles Sotomayor edited in law school and internal documents from organizations she was involved with, among other material. They're also questioning her membership in the Belizean Grove, an all-women's group.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Senate Republican accused Democrats Wednesday of moving too hastily on Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, warning that their decision would have unspecified "consequences."

And another GOP senator floated the possibility of a filibuster by angry Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized Democrats for scheduling mid-July hearings for the federal appeals judge.

"They want the shortest timeline in recent memory for someone with the longest judicial record in recent memory," McConnell said. "This violates basic standards of fairness and it prevents senators from carrying out one of their most solemn duties."

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said many Republicans may end up voting against Sotomayor because they feel they don't know enough about her, and others might decide to protest what they see as unfair treatment with stalling tactics in the Judiciary Committee or on the Senate floor to block her from being confirmed.

"I don't think anybody wants to filibuster Judge Sotomayor - I certainly don't want to - but sometimes the only way you can make sure things are fair ... is to invoke some of the rules," Hatch said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee chairman, announced Tuesday that hearings would open July 13. That's 48 days after President Barack Obama named Sotomayor for the high court.

It took at least a week more than that to begin hearings on each of the last three justices to be confirmed, but almost two weeks less for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was confirmed in 1993.

Ginsburg had been a federal appeals court judge for 13 years when she was nominated; Sotomayor has been on the federal bench for almost 17 years.

McConnell did not say what the GOP is prepared to do, if anything, to try slow the timetable.

But several other Republicans warned that Democrats were inviting problems for Sotomayor's nomination by insisting on a fast process.

"I think it hurts her to have that kind of pushing. ... There's a lot of irritation and disgruntlement with the way it's been handled," Hatch said.

Judiciary Republicans are calling on Sotomayor to cough up more documents they say she left out of her response to a detailed questionnaire on her background, writings and rulings. They're signing onto a letter that will formally request that the judge fill in the blanks, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the panel.

Conservative interest groups are also asking for more information from Sotomayor. Among the material they say she omitted are articles she edited while a student at Yale Law School, and details on cases the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund was involved in while she served on its board.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090610/D90N880.html