both sandra day o'connor and former justice sandra day o'connor or justice sandra day o'connor and justicehappy that another woman may be coming on to the court. they think that it is important that we have women represented, well-represented. i think that's something that the country should aspire to. >> larry: what, anita, has been the lasting affect on you and your approach to the law since your involvement with the hearings of judge thomas? >> one of the things that has really happened to me since that hearing was my appreciation for the fact that we really need to connect people with the law. and for people to really understand and appreciate that the decisions made by the supreme court impact their lives. whether or not they have received themselves as plaintiffs. but i think one of the things -- another thing that has been brought out, at least as i read the letters that i've gotten since the hearings is that we need to do a better job as lawyers, as law professorers, and judges of helping people to understand what their rights are. there were so many people who have written me that

. >> sandra day o'connor was the pioneer followed by ruth bader ginsburg in 1993.nt into the abc news vault this morning for a look at their confirmation hearings. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news tonight" with peter jennings at the foreign desk in london, max robinson at the national desk in chicago and from our desk in washington, frank reynolds. >> good evening. the constitutional procedure that could lead to the first woman on the supreme court formally began today. the senate judiciary committee opened confirmation hearings on the nomination of judge sandra day o'connor. most of the questioning was friendly. still there is opposition to her. >> reporter: well before today's hearing started, antiabortion activists were gathered by the capitol to demonstrate that no matter what happened inside, there was passionate opposition to judge o'connor outside. the nominee arrived at the senate by another entrance surrounded by friends and promptly got her first question not from a senator but from a reporter. >> are you ready? >> i hope so. >> are you ne

african-american justice thurgood marshall on the court, waited too long 1981 to have the first woman, sandra day o'connor. to have the first woman, justice sandra day o'connor. i think as a diverse nation, diversity is very, very important. you bring excellent credentials, academically, professionally, your service on the court. but the constitution requires the process for this committee and then the full senate to consider in detail your qualifications under our consent function. most of the questions which will be asked of you in the course of these hearings will involve decided cases. i intend to ask about decided cases, but also, about cases that the supreme court decided not to decide. and on the rejection of cases for decision that's a big problem. the court, i would suggest, has time for more cases. and chief justice roberts noted in his confirmation hearing that the decision of more cases would be very helpful. if contrast the docket of the supreme court in 1886 with currently, in 1886, there were 1,396 cases on the docket. 451 were decided. century later, there were only 161 assigned opinions,

sandra day o'connor wrote in one of her last decisions that she said this court expects in 25 years there will be no need for reverse discrimination. this is a little harder now to make a claim simply that if statistics produced a racially skewed result it is discrimination. it makes it significantly harder to impose a reverse discrimination, so i think the line has moved. it pushes us in a direction of reaching the o'connor goal of eliminating it in our lifetime or younger people's lifetime. >> a political question, i have en no polling, but my guess would be that this was a popular decision politically. would you agree? >> it was but i don't think anyone understood what the court was saying. they say if you think he will get sood and liz you cannot do it, but -- if you think you will get sued and lose you cannot do it. she said there are other tests and other cities use these tests. the results are less racially skewed. >> in sat tests asians do extremely high on math. does that mean that the test has something wrong with it? >> if no black person could pass the sat test, wouldn't you s

sandra day o'connor, the supreme court's first female justice is also on the list. also is civil rights leader, joseph lowery. mr. obama said the recipients were selected for being agents of change. the medal of freedom is the highest civilian honor. >>> the cast of "seinfeld" will be back together again. the reunion will take place on his hbo show, "curb your enthusiasm." jerry seinfeld, julia louis-dreyf louis-dreyfus, and jason alexander will appear on "curb," and come together for the finale. >>> pope benedict has signed a record deal. record label officials say it will appeal to a wider audience, and not just those who are religious. the record will drop at the end of november, just in time for christmas. >> who would have thought the pope would have a record that would drop. it will probably do pretty well. >> i'll bet it will, too, yeah. >>> coming up, a bull on the loose. it wasn't in spain. this was in idaho. >>> and steroid shocker. a baseball sup th. the latest to admit to testing positive for drug use. the great taste of splenda® no calorie sweetener and

sandra day o'connor, the supreme court's first female justice is also on the list. rights leader, joseph lowery. mr. obama said the recipients were selected for being agents of change. the medal of freedom is the highest civilian honor. >>> the cast of "seinfeld" will be back together again. enththsm."."ryoyour ee plalace louis-drdrfuf eld, , jujuli louiuis-s-eyfus, jon anmemeoghefoe wi a appear on "c" fifinale >>>>> popo benict t has s gned a cordrd recordrdelelfffficiaia s s i i wiwi a appeaea a wididerer audn, and nonot t jujustst t thosese the e cord w will opop at t the ovemember,r, j jusust inimime f chchrimamas. po w wldld have e a a cocord tha wowoululdrop.. >> i'l'll bebeitill, t too, yey. >>comimingng up,p, a b bull ono osose. itasasn't in spapain. was i iidaho. >>>>> > and sterhohoerer. a a seball s sererarar. the e lalaststmit tesestiting posisiti fororrug g use. whwhatatf we tookkththt ofof splen nono calalororie sweweetr ? sweeee swsweeeet!t! (a(annnnncerer) splendnd® n no loloie swsweeenererh fibeber.r. now w r ththee .firirstst timim a amam of f heal

and this looks like a court led by john roberts with justice sam alito taking sandra day o'connor's place, a clear view of the law and the role of the court in society and that's why you're seeing some of these decisions that we saw this term really pulling the court out of some of these disputes. the best case for that, paul, was a big dna case, an inmate up in alaska convicted of rape argued that he should have a constitutional right to his genetic material after he was convict today test his dna and he confessed to the crime, but he want today challenge it, the justices led by john roberts, a beautiful example of conservative jurisprudence, said this is not an issue for the court, the legislators are handling this, most of the states would allow this kind of access, we're not going to be policy makers, and that's the direction i think that the court is headed in. >> an in a couple of other instances, the herring case where they didn't turn it back, they paired it down throw out the evidence if the police err in the way they gather the efforts. and the voting case, didn't with an 8-1 de

. >> reporter: on affirmative action, she quoted sandra day o'connor. >> it is firmly my hope that in 25 years, what race in our society won't be needed to consider any situation. >> reporter: as the grueling session drew to a close, republicans had more questions than answers. >> who are we getting here? >> reporter: and democrats had more praise. >> in your courtroom, rule of law always triumphs. >> reporter: judge sotomayor never lost her composure today, as the senators asked question after question. she took vigorous notes, almost like she was trying to keep her focus by writing as they spoke. and she'll be back in this hearing room again tomorrow for another full round of questions. charlie? >> jan crawford-greenburg, covering the senate hearings, thank you. >>> president obama was in michig today, a state with an unemployment rate approaching 15%. she said he welcomes the challenge of turning the economy around and proposed a $12 million investment in two-year community colleges who train millions for the jobs of the fuhr chi. >>> on the hill today, house democrats unveiled the

sandra day o'connor and physicist stephen looking. >>> and off to a roaring start why that could cause problems for car owners. >>> ton frs computers and televisions junged by americans making children sick half a world away. >>> and your chance at immortality. how you can set your very own world record my name is chef michael. and my dog bailey and i love to hang out in the kitchen... so she can watch me cook. you just love the aromas of beef tenderloin... and, ooh, rotisserie chicken. yes, you do. [ barks ] yeah. you're so special, you deserve a very special dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. the deliciously different way to serve up your love at mealtime. chef-inspired. dog-desired. chef michael's canine creations. but i did. you need to talk to your dctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care f your kids,, now it's time to take car. time out! wearing pads just in case? i don't mind it... much. time out! are you really going to put up... with overactive bladder

she says she was trying to make a play on words used by former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor. >> i do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gendered group has an advantage in sound judging. >> tomorrow sotomayor sits down for another day of questioning, but her confirmation is likely to move quickly through the democratic-ruled committee, then on to the full senate for a vote. terry owens, abc 2 news. >>> now an abc 2 news update we first brought you as breaking news at 11. southwest airlines has inspected about 200 of its planes after a football-sized hole opened up in the top of a jet while it was in flight last night. the boeing 737 made an emergency landing in west virginia. the cabin lost pressure, but no one was hurt on the nashville to baltimore flight with 126 passengers and 5 crewmembers on board. passengers in the rear section of the jet could actually see outside through the hole. >> the pilot and flight crews are trained in how to act when there is a depressurization. they basically get the airplane down to a breatheful altitude around 10,000-feet high as soon a

kennedy, tennis champion and women's advocate, billy jean king, retired supreme court justice sandra day o'connor, actor sydney portier and archbishop desmond tutu. see the full list on our website, nightly.msnbc.com. up next here tonight, the heroes who were at the right place at the right time to save a little boy and are still making a difference for his entire family. you might as well be. you see, their moisturizer sits on top of skin, almost as if you're wearing it. only new dove deep moisture has nutriummoisture, a breakthrough formula with natural moisturizers... that can nourish deep down. it's the most effective natural nourishment ever. new dove deep moisture with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. no surprises. new dove deep moisture with nutriummoisture. no shocks. dulcolax stool softener provides stimulant-free constipation relief that's gradual and comfortable, like nature intended. dulcolax stool softener. feeling free to be. singers: feelin' free. advil pm or tylenol pm? with advil pm she's spending less time... lying awake with aches and pains... he sho

she tried to tell you she was attempting to agree with justice sandra day o'connor's statement that it was women. but then she said she disagrees and that a wise latina would make a better decision. >> she did say she was agreeing with justice o'connor when she was not. objectivity is a near expiration of. she except the fact and use those words more than a few times. when you have a judge who was taken an oath to be impartial and discreet, the port and a rich alike, but cannot articulate philosophy contrary to that, it is troubling. we use the phrase confirmation conversion, but i think we need to look at along record to ascertain how she might perform on the supreme court. megyn: she said she wanted to state unequivocally that she does not leave any ethnic or racial group has any advantage in judging. no matter what i would have said, this is what i believe. i do not believe gender groups or minority groups any advantage in judging. can you not take her at her word on that? >> i thought we should give her credit for making the statement today, but it is different from the statement s

after that, support justice stephen breyer and former justice sandra day o'connor talk about their life on the court. >> domestic policy advisors for presidents gathered to talk about how they dealt with their presidents. hosted by the university of virginia, this is about 90 minutes. >> i want to welcome everybody watching this on c-span or on the website of the miller center public affairs at the university of virginia, which is sponsoring this symposium on white house domestic policy-making. there are four sessions in this symposium. they're being broadcast at different time, so check the websites to see when you can see the others. this session is on the theme of domestic policy development in the white house. and we really have an all-star cast of former white house domestic policy people. to talk about this issue along with scholars and others who are interested. i want to begin by introducing better carr. -- burt carr. burt was part of the carter administration having worked for years with scenario walter mondale. he served as assistant director of domestic policy. since then, he

it is worth mentioning that arizona state changed the name of its law school to the sandra day o'connor school of law, and the other thing we know about her from the session yesterday is that she continues to consider herself an unemployed cowgirl. i would like to also say that she is a member of a cowgirl hall of fame. [laughter] we also have with us -- you are getting low billing here. bishop a jakes is a televangelist, but before that, he started his own church at the age of 22. he was able to go on television a few years later. his church, even in this city, where extraordinarily large churches of bound and nearly everyone goes to church. he and his parishioners have worked on hurricane relief, orphanages on south africa, and he offers financial advice to his flock. he has written more than 30 books, including some of what publishers call novels. more like parables. two of which have been made into movies. he talked about the need to rescue hidden deposits of britain's that are covered over by -- greatness covered over by violence and criminal records. so that is something that is o

she quoted sandra day o'connor as saying that a wise man and a wise woman coming to the same conclusion, but that she was not so sure. then she said that she likes to think, or that she would help, that a wise latina would come to a, not different, but better conclusion than a white man. she has still not dealt with that. she is still dealing with the issue of trying to disagree, using a rhetorical flourishes, pointing out the contrast, but she has still not billed to the fact that she said that she thinks that a latino woman would come to a better conclusion. megyn: we have been joined on our panel by nina easton. one of the things that we were talking about during that cross- examination was the fact that she attempted to say that she was agreeing with justice o'connor. this is what she said in a speech in 2001. "justice o'connor has been quoted as saying that a wise old man and a wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. i am not so sure that i agree with that. i would hope that a wise latina would come to a better conclusion than a white male." the day she was

waited too long until 1981 to have the first woman, justice sandra day o'connor. i think as a diverse nation, diversy is very, very importt. you bring exceentcredentials, ademic academically, professly. your service on the ur but the constition requires t process fothis committee and then the full sente to consir in detail your qfications under ouconsent. st of the questions which will be asked o you will involve decided cases. i tend task aut decided cases, but al about cases that the supreme urt decided not to decide. and on theejtion of cases per desion. it's a big problem. the court i would suggest has time for more cases and chief justic roberts in h confmation ing is essentially d more cases would be very helpful. ifou can draft the docket of the supreme court 1886 recurrently, in 86, there were 13096 cases on the docket. 1 were decided. senchlys later, 2007, only7 signed opinions. i start on th cas which are not cided although i could star in many, many are. could startwith the circuit splitshere one court of appeals in one section of the untry goes one way

i believe judge sotomayor will be in the same old that serve as the manner of sandra day o'connor committed to the lot and not to ideology. in the weeks and months leading up to this hearing i have heard the president and senators on both sides of the aisle make reference to the engraving over the entrance of the supreme court. i look at that every time i go up there. it is carved in vermont marble and it says, equal justice under law. judge sotomayor's nomination keeps faith with those words. >> thank you mr. chairman, thank you for your leadership and i believe you let's set up rules for conducting this hearing consistent with past hearings and i believe it allows us to do our work together and i have enjoyed working with you on this process. i hope this will be viewed as the last hearing this committee has ever had. i joined chairman leahy and judge sotomayor in welcoming you here today and it marks an import milestone in your life. and i know your family is proud and rightly so and it is a pleasure to have them with us today. i expect this hearing and the resulting debate will be charac

i believe that judge sotomayor will be in the same mode, as sandra day o'connor, committed to the law not ideology. in the weeks and months leading up to this hearing, i've heard on both sides of the aisle references being made to the engraving over the entrance of the supreme court. i look at that every time i go out there. it's carved in vermont marble and it says, people, justice, under law. judge sotomayor's nomination gives faith in those words. senator sessions? >> thank you, senator. i believe you set up the rules for the hearing are consistent with last hearing and i believe allow us to do our work together. i've enjoyed working with you on this process. i hope this will be viewed as the best hearing this committee has ever had. why not? we should seek that. and the remarks and your family is proud and rightly so and i expect this hearing and resulting debate by respectful tone and discussion of serious issues, a thoughtful dialogue and maybe some disagreements for people who have worked hard from the beginning. i've been an active litigator as a federal prosecutor and a const

i was trying to play on the words of justice sandra day o'connor, the wise woman comment and she said it was bad, it fell flat. >> politically how important was it she said it was bad? >> i think it was important apology because lindsey graham pointed out at the beginning he might vote for her. the republican lindsey graham but indicated that she needed to come off of that, he said, that she needed to apologize about it and as close you could expect her to come to an apolicy guy. she tried to explain it and it wasn't work with sessions and said it was bad. on the firefighters case that you cite, she kept saying this was narrow ruling, in fact, she was not making law, she suggested that the -- 5-4 decision, the majority of the supreme court made law by finding a different issue and a different standard that they went beyond the 78-page legal brief that had present her and three-judge panel in the appeals court. she was requested about her comments at duke law where she had said the students, students considering do you want to be a district judge or appeals judge what is your long-rang

institute tied for first among people who do not broker introduction, former associate justice sandra day o'connor and justice stephen breyer. i want to add one item appropriate to the general theme of selecting judges because both justice o'connor and justice breyer have been selected twice. justice o'connor was among the very last elected judges in arizona if i remember correctly, and by president reagan to join the supreme court. justice breyer, for many years, was a distinguished member of the first district court of appeals in boston appointed to that office by president carter and i am correct in saying he was the last person not confirmed during the carter administration. so i do hope and a soon we will talk about judicial selection beyond the topic of the hour, judicial selection for the united states supreme court. and i take it that it is not a miss when i suggest you might need a modicum more introduction than justice breyer and justice o'connor. among other things, this is a very distinguished professor of law at georgetown university. for purposes of this panel, probably he is among t

she pointed to former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor, current justice samuel alito who used similar language. for the first time she's saying publicly that maybe her words were a bad choice. she continued also to defend her remarks, saying she was trying to inspire the students she was speaking with at the time. >> so interesting again to hear her try to sort of say, wait a second. as you pointed out, other justices have said something similar. i acknowledge that the rhetorical flourishes may have been a bad idea. she's trying to give leeway here. this comes as we noted that the white house, president obama has been in michigan for about 45 minutes. the spokesman robert gibbs talked to reporters aboard the aircraft. as far as the white house is concerned, they believe this is going very well. that sotomayor is doing very well, says robert gibbs. we'll take a quick break. you're watching msnbc's live coverage of the sonia sotomayor hearings. today there's a way to save more for retirement, with annuities from fidelity. turn your savings into income -- guaranteed, and get a re

this love fest you two have, i didn't hear maureen dowd go against sandra day o'connor. i never hear her say just because somebody is confederate, it doesn't mean maureen dowd is against her. harriet miers and sarah palin are often renounced by the right who feel they are not qualified for the jobs they have. bill: is it ok with you the headline "white man's last stand"? is that ok? >> first of all, maureen dowd does not write the headlines. it's a "new york times" editor that does that. yes, it's a provocative headline. bill: you as an editor would have written that? >> it's gotten you to do a segment on it. bill: say you object to al sharpton or jesse jackson or one of those guys, louis farrakhan, would you then write a headline "black guys take a hike"? >> probably not because there is a double standard. that's because there has always been a white power structure. when you're a disempowered group, when you're a member of a group that has not often had the power. bill: it's ok to be prejudiced. >> it's a different paradigm if you're the group. if you're called by gord

sandra day o'connor was the first supreme woman on the supre court judge and in her speech, sotomayor went on to say "i am not so sure that i agree with that statement," but today she seemed to hedge her prior position. >> i knew that justice o'connor couldn't have meant that if judges eached different conclusions, legal legal conclusions that one of them wasn't wise that. couldn't have been her meaning, because reasonable judges disagree on legal conclusions in some cases, so i was trying to play on her words. my play was fallen flat. it was bad. >> ranking republican senator jeff sessions felt her explanations for those statements fell flat. >> that is the opposite of what you saying, is it not? what you saying today is quite inconsistent, don't you think? that is not consistent with your statement. >> senators on both sides of the aisle wanted to know where sotomayor stands on gun rights and the second amendment. today she tried to reassure her critics. >> like you, i understand that how important the right to bear arms is to many, many americans in fact, one of my god children is

that's something we have heard sandra day o'connor talk an awful lot about. this issue of who is a judicial activist and who isn't has become something that she loves to discuss, as you well know, jeffrey, because she cares a lot about the judges being maligned and labeled. >> john, give us the explanation why senator franken, this is so important? >> senator franken, when he was a liberal radio host often went after conservative judges and politicians accusing them of, moo i term, not his, hip objecting chrissy, saying you go after threes liberal judges saying they are activists but he views or he viewed, when he was a radio host, he would often go after the justice scalias and the justice thomas he is of the world saying they are doing the things that conservative criticize. >> he also wrote a big about mr. o'reilly. >> he did. in his previous life, before he was running for elected office and now in elected office, he would often call it what he saw as the hypocrisy of judges. it was a big part of who he was in the public sphere before he was an elected pu

for sandra -- sandra day o'connor to talk about maybe in 20 years we won't need affirmative actions anymore because the problems will be behind is us preposterous. this notion of a color-blind constitution is a fairy tale about life in america which is destructive, it's destructive of our legal system, it's destructive or our social system, destructive of relations among citizens and it's time to set it aside and talk realistically about the role of race in our society. in the book, one of the chapters is by eva paterson, who the dean mentioned, and her colleague, susan serrano from the equal justice society in san francisco, and they suggest it's time to overrule a case called washington vs. davis. it says if you're going to prove violation of the equal protection clause you have to prove there was an intents on the part of in the the government to discriminate. it's not enough to prove that minority groups are treat adversely, that government rules or regulations or laws treat people unfairly as a result of their race or gender. you have to prove that there's an intent to discriminate, an

this love fest you two have, i didn't hear maureen dowd go against sandra day o'connor. i never hear her say just because somebody is confederate, it doesn't mean maureen dowd is against her. harriet miers and sarah palin are often renounced by the right who feel they are not qualified for the jobs they have. bill: is it ok with you the headline "white man's last stand"? is that ok? >> first of all, maureen dowd does not write the headlines. it's a "new york times" editor that does that. yes, it's a provocative headline. bill: you as an editor would have written that? >> it's gotten you to do a segment on it. bill: say you object to al sharpton or jesse jackson or one of those guys, louis farrakhan, would you then write a headline "black guys take a hike"? >> probably not because there is a double standard. that's because there has always been a white power structure. when you're a disempowered group, when you're a member of a group that has not often had the power. bill: it's ok to be prejudiced. >> it's a different paradigm if you're the group. if you're called by gord

among them, former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor, tennis champion billie jean king. physicist stephen hawking, senator edward kennedy. harvey milk, and first openly gay elected official from a major city in the united states, and the count founder of the susan g. komen cure breast cancer foundation. and george w. bush, dare i say in contrast. recipients including former cia director george tenet who said the >>> days ago -- 40 day ago a woman killed and taped and rocketed around the world online. native killing galvanized iranians, themselves and people around the world with the movement that sprung up in iran after the disputed presidential election on june 12th. the fact it's been 40 day since the date of her killing is important symbolically and politically. the dead are mourned in a cycle of three, seven then 40 days. 40 days marks the end of the period of mourning for someone who has died, and today the end of the period of mourning for made da n acht dcht a. it brought the movement back into the streets and back into the headlines at a time when the regime agai

this was sandra day o'connor. 59% did not know it was her. did that surprise you? caller: she remains a very important figure and served for, i guess, a little over 20 years. was struck by that. i thought it was interesting that there's even greater awareness of sotomayor. host: what does that tell you? caller: just that there's an enormous interest in her nomination. host: what did you find when it came general knowledge about the preem court? iks in some respected, the public. the voting public and the broad aspect. there where some other choices as well. >> can you name any justices on the supreme court? only 46% say yes. caller: that's interesting. where we started to see a slide they were aware that 3/4 know that it is a lifetime term. you talked a little bit earlier about how the supreme court and american seem to know that the supreme court made a difference in their lives. how many can name a specific case? there is really only one case. that is a row vs. wade. -- that is roe vs. wade. it has been in the news now for three or six years. -- 36 years. also, b

among them, former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor, tennis champion billie jean king.sicist stephen hawking, senator edward kennedy. harvey milk, the first and late openly gay member of the elects official from a major city in the united states and the founder of the susan g. koman cure breast cancer foundation. and george w. bush, dare i say in contrast. recipients including former cia director george tenet who said the faulty intelligence upon the war in iraq was based was a slam dunk. also gave one to paul bremmer, the u.s. administrator during the post-invasion phase of the war that is essentially universally acknowledged to be a complete bureaucratic moral and strategic disaster. presidential medal of freedom, it's nice to have you back and no longer be ironic. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah. his and hers. - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion? - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( chirp ) joint custody. - dog: phew... announcer: get work done

sandra day o'connor grew up in a ranch in arizona. itade a difference in the way she looked at the rld, the way she analyzedhuman conduct. that'sot ual. >> well, i guess that gets down to the question of affirmative action and whether she on the court wi put her thumb onhe scale in favor ofinorities ainst peopleho might lose in a case where the courts re in favoof minorities. let me get tohe keyuestion here, e ricci case. the supreme court overruled h when she ruled that at the pellate level it was okay for the city of new haven to throw out a test becau the results showed no african-americans passed theest for promoon for refighter. what did you me of her positionn that? did you support her ruling that case? >> ihink her ruli washe only ring that she could have handed down. it reflected 38 years of court decisions. reflected the trial court's cision, the appellate panel's cision, andthe fullappellate court, andhe joined into what was clearly the precedent. along camehe supreme court a by a 5-4 vote, very cle vote, turned iov and said

. >> on affirmative action she quoted sandra day o'connor. >> it is firmly my hope that in 25 years race in our society won't be needed to be considered in any situation. >> reporter: as the grueling session drew to a close, republicans had more questions than answers. >> who are we getting here? >> and democrats had more praise. >> in your courtroom rule of law always triumphs. >> sotomayor never lost her composure. she took vigorous notes, almost like she was trying to keep her folks by writing as they spoke. she'll be back in this hearing room again for another full round of questions. >> the investigation into what causedichael jackson's death has now turned to the superstar's skin doctor. his long-time dermatologist is the latest to be questioned. in london a tribute to jackson where he would have begun a record breaking 50 concerts this week opinion his promoter says a tribute will take place in london. >> if anyone in kobe japan asks what's shake, here's one answer. a full size seven story condo built on top of the world's largest simulated earthquake table. the building is beinte

she had to admit that when she said it was bad and she was just trying to play on a comment sandra day o'connor had made earlier. i don't think it was an accident that senator leahy also started by ask iing her for her to talk about her experience as a trial judge. >> let's go directly to florida, pensacola, additional arrests in that horrible murder case. >> last thursday, july 9th, a tragedy occurred in escambia, county, with the murder of byrd and melanie billings. where we as a society, and specifically escambia county, witnessed the worse in man. cruelty and indecency. but in the last five days, as the sheriff of escambia county, i have had the honor as the sheriff of this fine organization to witness the best in man. compassion, kindness, integrity, and professionalism. last thursday after this tragedy, we asked melanie and her husband and members of her family to come to the escambia county sheriff's office one day of this tragedy. and i'm sure you may recall standing in the lobby of the escambia county sheriff's office, while you felt very helpless at that moment, you asked me if there

's bound to have some impact sandra day o'connor grew uin a rah in arizona. it made a difference in the way she looked at the wod, the way she anyzed han conduct. that's not unual. >> well, i guess thagets down to the queion of affirmative action and whether she on th court will put herhumb on the scale favor of minorities against peopleho might lose in a case where the courts le in favor of minorities. let me get to e key question here, the ricccase. the preme court overruled her when she red at the appellate level it was okay for the city of n haven to throw out a test because thresults showed no african-americans passed the st for promotion for firefighter. for higherffice in the firefighteoperation up there in new haven. what didou make of her potion on that? did u suppt her ruling in that case? >> i think her ruling was the only ring that she could have handed down. it reflected 38 years ofrt decions. it reflected the trial court's decision, the appeate panel's decision, and the full appellate court, and she joined intohat was clearly thprecedent. along

also on the list is sandra day o'connor and civil rights leader reverend joseph lowery.sidential medal of freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor. >> boston red sox slugger david ortiz has confirmed tests showed he used steroids six years ago. the new york times reported both ortiz and his former teammate manny ramirez tested positive. ortiz said he was surprised to learn the results of the test and vowed to learn what triggered the positive response. >> time for your friday forecast. thunderstorms, severe weather and flooding from the northeast into the ohio and tennessee valleys today. stormy from north text as to -- north texas to nebraska. >> cooling down a bit in the northwest but still hot. 92 in portland, 85 in seattle. low 80s in chicago, indianapolis and st. louis. 91 in miami, dallas and new orleans. >> well, they were once on the brink of extinction, now they're causing quite a flutter. >> reporter: the endangered blue butterfly is making a big comeback thanks to a preserve on on the edge of l.a.x. airport. there is plenty of sea cliff buck wheat, which

like justice sandra day o'connor i believe she is poised to make history and i am proud to support her nomination. i encourage my colleagues in the senate to do likewise. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent after the remarks of the senator from hawaii that the senator go into a period of morning business with senator murray to be recognized first for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. levin: and other members of the body could then speak for up to ten minutes after senator murray. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from hawaii. mr. akaka: i rise to speak to amendment to s. 1390. i am hopeful there will be a time to speak on amendment 1522 which enhances the retirement security of federal employees and address inequities in the system. as chairman of the subcommittee oversight of government management, the federal workforce and the district of columbia, i am proud to join with senators collins, lieberman, voinovich, murkowski

more over initially the thought was that they would be replacing justice sandra day o'connor who wasonsidered at the end of her term a swing justice, a judge who sometimes decided with conservatives and sometimes liberals and sometimes carved out a path of her own. so with the stakes were considerably higher if it were going to be a solid conservative as president bush alleged pledged to appoint. this time we had justice david suitor and justice sotomayor would be exceeding him so with the assumption she would likely carry on his view of the law the stakes are somewhat less intense and if it were a member of the one of the five conservatives on the court which could really change things there. host: so with chairman patrick layy have vermont and how influential are they in the tenor of these proceedings? and did you get a sense yesterday of how they were kind of going to run the show? guest: well, yes, even senator sessions who is the leader of the opposition noted that senator leahy was going to follow the same foremats they used with roberts and alito meaning that that they would g

questions of race and affirmative action, she said "equality takes real effort" something that sandra day o'connor had said, "about 25 years from now we won't have affirmative action" is more a hope than an aspiration, she reaffirmed supreme court precedent on the roberts court has been walking away from on abortion restrictions having to have an exception for the health of the mother. on the other hand as a former prosecutor and someone who decided to start her career as a prosecutor, and then was a trial judge and heard a lot of criminal cases, on those kind of issues it's possible that she will at the very least be in the same position, maybe a little bit to the right. that's my take away from today. >> charlie: and there is nothing either that has happened or possibly to happen that would suggest that she will trip. >> nothing remotely. to the contrary, i would say she picked up -- it's hard to say, somewhere 5-10 votes today. the other thing i would say that was good about today is that it helped us with the future of confirmation, with roberts and alito and then the beginnings of the attacks

. >> reporter: sotomayor said those words were a poor play on words spoken by sandra day o'connor whichell flat. >> it was not what i intended which was attempting to aspire young latino students and lawyers who believed their experience is added value. >> reporter: some critical of sotomayor didn't buy her explanation, intimating she was lying with a rhetorical dodge. as for the critics in the senate. >> it still doesn't answer to me the question of whether you think that these -- that ethnicity or gender should be making the difference. >> reporter: she's disappointed. she believes sotomayor's comments are meant only to empower young people and rep pubs should move on. >> should we not be doing as any person going in court would do -- you deal with the facts at hand. and her decision making has shown exactly what she's done. >> reporter: and that's what judge sotomayor did say in the hearings. look at my 17-year record and then decide if my ethnicity or my gender enters into my decisions. see what happens. >> lindsey graham, he questioned her about it but he said it's not going to mak

waited too long until 1981 to have the first woman, justice sandra day o'connor. i think, as the defers nation, diversity is very, very important. hubering excellent credentials, academically, professionally. your service on the court, the constitution requires the process for this committee and the full senate to consider in detail your qualifications under our consent and function. most of the questions, which will be asked of you and the course of these hearings, will involve deciding cases. i intend to ask about deciding cases, but also about cases that the supreme court decided not to decide, and on their rejection of the cases for decision that is a big problem. the court i would suggest has time for more cases. chief justice roberts noted in his confirmation hearing that the decision in more cases would be very helpful. if you contrast the docket of the supreme court in 1886 with current, in 1886 there were 1396 cases on the docket, 451 were decided. a century later, there were only 161 signed opinions, 2007 there were only 67 signed opinions. .. don't know

let's be honest about it, sandra day o'connor said that's who i am, that's what i believe.bound to be applied to factual situations that come to her as judge. she's going to look at things through her life experience as every judge will. to suggest the judge as soon as they take that oath of office just divorce themselves from their human life experience is unrealistic. senators don't do it, congressmen and presidents don't do it, why would a supreme court justice? but the question is, does she look to the law to guide her? and the answer is yes. and i think that's where she'll be approved. >> another area likely to drill down on is the new haven firefighters decision when she was on the second circuit court of appeals. she ruled in favor of the town and against the firefighters. she was overturned by the supreme court just recently. and republicans, the strategy, as ins it, is paint her out of the mainstream on racial issues. and as we look at the poll asking about the firefighters, 65% of respondents said yes, they were victims of discrimination. is that a fair question f