Legal Beat

Judge Sonia Sotomayor defended her membership in private women's organization named Belizean Grove, in a letter Monday to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sotomayor wrote in response to a letter the GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent to her last week asking for supplemental information to her committee questionnaire.

"The organization does not invidiously discriminate on the basis of sex," Sotomayor wrote. "Men are involved in its activities -- they participate in trips, host events, and speak at functions -- but to the best of my knowledge, a man has never asked to be considered for membership. It is also my understanding that all interested individuals are duly considered by the membership committee. For these reasons, I do not believe that my membership in the Belizean Grove violates the Code of Judicial Conduct."