Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has received the American Bar Association's highest rating, according to a letter released Tuesday by the White House.
In a brief letter dated July 7, Kim J. Askew, chair of the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary informed the White House that Sotomayor was unanimously ranked "well qualified."
As is customary, the ABA released the ranking but not any of the details of its investigation, which includes extensive interviews and a thorough examination of the nominee's writings in order to evaluate the nominee's integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.
The ABA offers three rankings: "not qualified," "qualified," and "well qualified." According to ABA, "to merit a 'qualified' or 'well qualified' rating, a Supreme Court nominee must be at the top of the legal profession, have outstanding legal ability and exceptional breadth of experience, and meet the highest standards possible. The evaluation of 'well qualified' is reserved for those found to merit the Committee's strongest affirmative endorsement."
The Obama Administration reestablished the practice of having the ABA evaluate candidates for lower courts prior to their nomination, but the name of a Supreme Court nominee isn't provided until after the choice is made public.
Read the letter here: ABA Letter 7-07-09.pdf
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