Judge Sonia Sotomayor—in line to become the newest U.S. Supreme Court justice—dealt with a deluge of questions last week during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings.
Republicans continued to press Sotomayor for her "wise Latina" comment as well as for her decision in Ricci vs. DeStafano, in which an appellate court ruled against white firefighters who wanted to keep the results of a test on which minorities scored lower, according to CourthouseNews.com . The U.S. Supreme Court has since overturned that ruling.
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, brought up the issue of same-sex marriage, asking if "marriage is a question reserved for the states to decide based on" a 1972 Minnesota decision that denied such unions. Sotomayor responded that she would have to check the case but added that she would "apply that precedent to the facts of any new situation that implicates it."
The U.S. Supreme Court has never issued a decision regarding same-sex marriage, according to the Des Moines Register.
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) —the nation's largest LGBT-rights organization—issued a formal endorsement of Sotomayor. In a statement, HRC said that it "is encouraged by Judge Sotomayor's responses to questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee and her record of fair-minded decisions." Organization president Joe Solmonese said, "Judge Sotomayor has demonstrated her understanding and commitment to protecting the liberty and equality of all Americans."
If the nomination passes through the committee, the full Senate is expected to vote within the next few weeks, according to U.S. News & World Report.