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• Obama makes historic Supreme Court selection
• Area Hispanics praise selection of Sotomayor
• Virginians critique nominee
BIO - SONIA SOTOMAYOR
Age: 54; born June 25, 1954, in New York City.
Experience: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1998-present; judge, U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1992-1998; private practice, New York City, 1984-1992; assistant district attorney, New York County, 1979-1984.
Education: B.A., Princeton University, 1976; J.D., Yale Law School, 1979.
Family: Divorced; no children.
Quote: "I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it." -- During a 1997 nomination hearing
Lauren Cohen Bell, a political-science professor at Randolph-Macon College, says she often errs when making predictions, but not this time.
As soon as she heard about Justice David H. Souter's retirement, she said she thought Sonia Sotomayor would be President Barack Obama's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bell worked on Sotomayor's stalled nomination to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals throughout 1998, when Bell was a fellow on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Republican-controlled Senate eventually confirmed Sotomayor.
There was talk of a candidate with a Hispanic background during the last couple of nominations, and Obama had indicated he was interested in appointing a woman, Bell said.
Also, Bell said, "she came in with significant amounts of support from Republicans -- I think that makes her attractive." President George H.W. Bush nominated Sotomayor to a federal district court judgeship in 1991.
"This is somebody whose credentials are just impeccable," Bell said of the nominee.
U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday praised Sotomayor, saying she has a compelling personal story and strong legal credentials.
"In every way imaginable, Sonia Sotomayor has lived the American dream," said Kaine, the Democratic National Committee chairman who issued statements in English and in Spanish.
But Richard A. Viguerie, a veteran Virginia political activist who now is chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said Sotomayor's nomination is "an enormous opportunity for conservatives to define President Obama as a radical liberal in a way that Republicans have so far failed to do."
Bell noted that in 1997, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., had questioned Sotomayor closely about concerns she had expressed about the federal sentencing guidelines being too hard in places.
The guidelines since have been changed in ways consistent with the positions that she took, Bell said.
"Even though she is well-qualified, has tons of judicial experience, has been supported by Republicans, what they'll do is try to paint her as a judicial activist," Bell predicted.
Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or fgreen@timesdispatch.com.
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