The U.S. Postal Service plans to issue a panel of four stamps honoring former Supreme Court justices Joseph Story, Louis D. Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter and William J. Brennan Jr.
The Postal Service and the Supreme Court will commemorate the first day of issue on Sept. 22, with an event at the Supreme Court featuring Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Postmaster General John E. Potter.
In her first oral argument session since joining the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor signaled today that she does not agree that corporations should be allowed a freer hand to spend money to influence elections.
The case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, started as a non-profit corporation's challenge to restrictions in the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign law to "electioneering conmunications" paid for out of corporate or union general treasury funds within 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election. Before Sotomayor joined the court, it broadened the case to consider whether to overturn two major campaign finance precedents.
Sotomayor sat quietly through almost a third of the session, before asking former Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson whether the plaintiff's side was "giving up on your earlier arguments" that the court could rule for the plaintiff without overturning the precedents.
Sotomayor said that a "difficulty" she had was that "we don't have any record developed below" on the question of voiding the precedents.
After spending June and July on Sonia Sotomayor's successful nomination to the Supreme Court, the Senate Judiciary Committee will resume processing lower court nominations in earnest this week.
On Wednesday, the committee plans to hold a confirmation hearing for 3rd Circuit nominee Joseph A. Greenaway Jr., of New Jersey; and district court nominees Roberto A. Lange of South Dakota, Irene Cornelia Berger of West Virginia and Charlene Edwards Honeywell of Florida.
The next day, the committee is scheduled to vote on the nominations of Beverly Baldwin Martin of Georgia for the 11th Circuit, and Jeffrey L. Viken to be a South Dakota district judge. The committee held a confirmation hearing for Martin and Viken on July 29, the day after it voted to approve Sotomayor's nomination. Georgia Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson both testified in favor of Martin's nomination.
Nevertheless, committee Republicans are expected to postpone consideration of the Martin and Viken nominations for a week, as provided for under committee rules.
The Supreme Court will conduct a formal investiture ceremony for Justice Sonia Sotomayor this afternoon in its courtroom.
President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are scheduled to attend. Sotomayor and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will walk down the front steps of the Supreme Court building at about 2:15 p.m., and pose briefly for photographs, along with members of Sotomayor's family.
The newest justice has already been on the job for a month, since getting sworn in on Aug. 8 in a private ceremony at the court. She will be on the bench for Wednesday's oral argument in a high-stakes campaign finance case.
The Supreme Court announced Friday that it would rush the release of an audio recording of its unusual Sept. 9 session, in which the court will hear a second round of argument in a high-stakes campaign finance case.
As it has gotten in the habit of doing in major cases, the court will release the recording soon after the session concludes. The case is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
The justices -- including the court's newest member, Sonia Sotomayor -- are trying to decide whether to overturn of two of its campaign finance precedents, which would loosen restrictions on corporate political spending.
Since leaving the Supreme Court in 2006, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has devoted herself to increasing public understanding of the judiciary in general and the Supreme Court in particular.
To that end, she has launched a Web site that includes two interactive games. In one of them, "Supreme Decision," the player is a clerk to the fictional Justice Irene Waters, helping her decide her position on a First Amendment case.
The animated game includes a mock oral argument before a Supreme Court that appears to be composed of five women and four men.
That's nearly twice as many female justices as there have been in the court's entire history. O'Connor was the first, in 1981. Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the court in 1993. Justice Sonia Sotomayor just recently become the third.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn two of its decisions on campaign finance law.
The Kentucky Republican filed his brief in a pending -- and closely watched -- case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
The case originated as a challenge to federal restrictions on the video-on-demand distribution, during the 2008 presidential primary season, of a 90-minute documentary that was very critical of Hillary Rodham Clinton. The court on June 29 took the unusal step of ordering a rehearing of the case in September, specifically on two questions.
Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez did not mention Republican criticism of confirmed Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor during a brief press conference in Orlando.
"There's no impending reason, it's only my desire to move on and to get on with the rest of my life," Martinez said, referring to his surprise announcement Friday that he will resign his Senate seat probably before the end of August.
Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez surprised the Senate Friday, announcing he is going to resign his seat in the coming weeks.
Martinez had announced last December he would not run for re-election in next year's midterm elections, but he was expected to serve out the rest of his term. He is expected to step down before the end of August.
His decision comes on the heels of weeks of criticisms by many Senate Republicans at Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee. In a floor speech on Wednesday, Martinez -- one of just nine Republicans to vote for Sotomayor -- lashed out at the GOP attacks, particularly an accusation that had been leveled by Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions.
Sen, James Inhofe, R-Okla., used the word "racist" to describe Sonia Sotomayor's speeches in which she suggested a wise woman or wise Latina might make a better decision than a white male judge.
"To me, I consider that racist," Inhofe said tonight during Senate floor debate on Sotomayor's nomination.
Senate Republicans have shied away from that term when critiquing Sotomayor's speeches. She testified at her Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing last month that she believed she had chosen her words poorly during a series of speeches intended to inspire student audiences.
The GOP's 2008 presidential nominee, John McCain, announced Monday that he will vote against Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
McCain, who wanted to be the one doing the nominating, said he could not support "activist judges" in outlining his opposition in a Senate floor speech.
"I cannot support activist judges that seek to legislate from the bench," McCain said. "I have not supported such nominees in the past, and I cannot support such a nominee to the highest court in the land."
As expected, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 13-6, today to send the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.
South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham joined all 12 Democrats on the panel to support Sotomayor's nomination. The full Senate is expected to take up the nomination the week of Aug. 3, and confirm Sotomayor before its August recess.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn has announced he will oppose Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, making it likely that the Judiciary Committee will approve the nomination on a 13-6 vote.
Coburn was the last of seven Judiciary Committee Republicans to declare his position. The panel, which has 12 Democrats, is scheduled to vote on the nomination Tuesday morning. Only one panel Republican, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, plans to vote in favor of the nomination. All of the Democrats are expected to vote for it as well.
According to The Oklahoman newspaper Coburn opposes Sotomayor because of her views on gun rights and foreign law. Excerpts from her past speeches also demonstrate that Sotomayor will be unable to exercise impartiality, Coburn contends.
Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has announced he will vote against the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, in an op-ed in USA Today.
"I don't believe that Judge Sotomayor has the deep-rooted convictions necessary to resist the siren call of judicial activism," Sessions wrote.
The Judiciary committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination on Tuesday. The panel, composed of 12 Democrats and seven Republicans, is expected to approve the nomination. The Senate is expected to confirm Sotomayor during the week of Aug. 3.
So far, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is the only committee Republican to announce a yes vote on the nomination. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Tom Couburn of Oklahoma are the only Republicans on the panel who have not announced a position.
For the first time in his 32-year Senate career, Utah Republican Orrin G. Hatch said he "reluctantly" and "with a heavy heart" intends to vote against a Supreme Court nominee and will oppose the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.
Hatch has deferred to presidents of both parties when it comes to Supreme Court nominees, but has said repeatedly since Sotomayor's confirmation hearing ended on July 16 that he was having trouble making up his mind.
In a statement, Hatch said "arriving at a final decision was particularly difficult because I like and highly respect Judge Sotomayor and, in general, give a great deal of deference to any President's nominee." But he added, "However, after thoroughly reviewing Judge Sotomayor's record and being able to hear her testimony and responses during the hearing process, I reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, have found that I cannot support her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court."
Texas Republican John Cornyn announced Friday he will vote against Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court in a Senate floor speech.
Cornyn is the second of the seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to come out against Sotomayor in advance of the panel's July 28 vote. (Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., announced his opposition earlier this week.) A third -- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina -- announced his support for the nomination.
Cornyn's decision is hardly a surprise and his floor speech largely tracked the concerns he raised about Sotomayor during her confirmation hearing that began July 13.
Now that the big push for a pre-recess Senate vote on health care overhaul has collapsed, it looks like the Democratic majority is saving debate and a vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the week leading up to the scheduled August recess.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination on July 28. But Democratic leaders won't bring the nomination to the floor right away. Instead, it looks like they want to make the vote on her confirmation the last major Senate action before the recess, scheduled to begin Aug. 7. The nomination would not hit the floor until the week of Aug. 3, said a Senate Democratic aide.
Meanwhile, Sotomayor is killing time meeting privately with some of the 11 senators she did not get to talk to before her confirmation hearing began July 13.
How senators vote on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court will be taken into account when the National Rifle Association calculates its ratings of their performance.
The NRA had already come out against Sotomayor last week but announced in a July 23 letter to Senate leaders the organization plans to count votes in her favor against senators.
"Given the importance of this issue, the vote on Judge Sotomayor's confirmation will be considered in NRA's future candidate evaluations," wrote Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president and Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.
South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham on Wednesday announced he would vote in favor of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Graham is the first Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to come out in support of Sotomayor's nomination. He could provide some cover for other conservative Senate Republicans to vote for Sotomayor as well.
So far, only four other Republicans -- Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Mel Martinez of Florida -- have announced they will vote for Sotomayor.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is expected to announce his vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on the Senate floor later today.
Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, could be the first GOP committee member to endorse Sotomayor.
The only other Republican on the panel to have taken a position so far is Jon Kyl of Arizona, who will oppose Sotomayor. Kyl leaked his position to ABC News' Jan Crawford Greenburg.
Graham is expected to speak soon.
As expected, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court for a week after panel Republicans on Tuesday sought a delay.
Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said he was "disappointed" Republicans claimed their right under committee rules to hold over the vote. Republicans had been expected to seek a delay.
"We all know Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed," Leahy said, later noting that "she will be on the Supreme Court when the Supreme Court comes back in September."
Indiana's Richard Lugar on Friday became the first Republican senator to announce he intends to vote in favor of Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
"Judge Sotomayor is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court and she has demonstrated a judicial temperament during her week-long nomination hearing," Lugar said in a statement. "Judge Sotomayor has had a distinguished career of public service. She is well regarded in the legal community and by her peers. I will vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."
Lugar had also been an early GOP supporter of President Obama's first judicial nominee: fellow Hoosier David Hamilton, tapped for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
Nealy 11 hours into its fourth day, Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing has concluded.
The 19-member Judiciary Committee conducted three rounds of questions of Sotomayor over three days and heard from more than two dozen outside witnesses when Ted Kaufman, D-Del., gaveled the proceedings to a close just after 8 p.m.
Just a smattering of audience members and reporters remained in the once-packed hearing room.
Sotomayor's hearing was a day shorter than the last Supreme Court nominee, Samuel A. Alito Jr., in January of 2006.
The committee could vote on Sotomayor's nomination as soon as next week.
If he's flipping channels tonight and stops on C-SPAN, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. might be surprised to see his successor - and former chief of staff - Ted Kaufman presiding over the Judiciary Committee.
Kaufman, who was appointed to replace Biden when he became vice president, took the gavel during the fifth and final panel of outside witnesses called to testify at Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.
Biden chaired the Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995. His stewardship probably is best remembered for his handling of the 1991 nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy is quite the shutterbug, and he didn't miss the opportunity to capture on film the first Supreme Court nomination hearing over which he has presided.
Leahy, D-Vt., is displaying four photos on his Web site that he took during the second day of Sonia Sotormayor's confirmation hearing.
The Judiciary chairman is an avid photographer who displays his photos in his office. He's also been known to snap a picture using a camera belonging to one of the professional photographers who inhabit the Capitol.
The National Rifle Association formally opposes Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.
Sotomayor has faced intense questioning from Republicans about her views on gun rights and, specifically, an appellate court ruling she participated in earlier this year. Critics said the ruling in Maloney v. Cuomo effectively dictates that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states.
Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions' attempt to shorthand a pledge to address equalizing federal sentencing for offenses involving different types of cocaine prompted heavy laughter at Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.
"We're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and I have talked about before," Sessions promised Wade Henderson, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, during his testimony in favor of Sotomayor's confirmation.
"We got to," Sessions continued, before being cut off by uproarious laughter.
With the end of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing in sight, the jockeying over when the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on her nomination has begun.
Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., announced earlier today he was scheduling the vote for next Tuesday, July 21. But the top-ranking Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, told reporters that would be too soon. The committee allows members to request a one-week delay in any scheduled action. So a short time ago, Leahy offered a compromise: he'll postpone the vote until next Wednesday or Thursday if Republicans agree not to impose a full week's delay.
Leahy said the idea of delaying the vote a day or two rather than by a week came from a Republican, former Judiciary Chairman Orrin G. Hatch of Utah.
--Keith Perine contributed to this post.
Linda Chavez, a conservative Republican, leveled the harshest criticism yet against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
"I testify today not as a wise Latina woman, but as an American who believes that skin color and national origin should not determine who gets a job, promotion or public contract, or who gets into college or receives a scholarship," said Chavez, testifying this afternoon as one of 14 outside witnesses invited by Republicans.
Chavez, chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, said Sotomayor's "wise Latina," comment "comes very close to arguing for" racial quotas and suggested that any white man who made a similar comment would never be considered for a Supreme Court seat.
Frank Ricci, a New Haven, Conn., firefighter who lost a reverse discrimination claim, testified this afternoon that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's participation in the case failed to protect his civil rights.
At issue is the ruling of a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that included Sotomayor. The panel rejected the firefighters' claim that the city of New Haven illegally threw out the results of a promotion exam on which minority candidates received disproportionately low scores.
Ricci's testimony against Sotomayor's nomination has been anticipated by Republican opponents. Ricci, who overcame dyslexia and scored high on the exam, said the issue was broader than just his situation because "firefighters across the country have had to resort to the federal courts to vindicate their civil rights."