HNBA and Twenty-Five Preeminent National Hispanic Advocacy Organizations Decry Senator...

HNBA and Twenty-Five Preeminent National Hispanic Advocacy Organizations Decry
Senator Sessions' Mischaracterization of LatinoJustice PRLDEF

WASHINGTON, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, July 6, 2009, the
Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and twenty-five of the preeminent
national Hispanic advocacy organizations wrote to Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
expressing their dismay at his mischaracterization of the Puerto Rican Legal
Defense and Educational Fund (LatinoJustice PRLDEF), as an extremist
organization. Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack H. Obama's nominee to
serve as Associate Justice in the Supreme Court of the United States, served
as a board member of LatinoJustice PRLDEF from 1980 to 1992. In preparation
for Judge Sotomayor's pending confirmation before the Senate Committee on the
Judiciary, set to begin on Monday, July 13, 2009, Senator Sessions, the
ranking member of the Committee, said last week that LatinoJustice PRLDEF has
taken "extreme positions" and his office branded the civil rights organization
as "activist[s]."

The letter to Senator Sessions, signed by HNBA National President Ramona E.
Romero on behalf of the twenty-six leading Hispanic groups, noted that
"LatinoJustice PRLDEF is a mainstream and respected civil rights organization
that serves not only the Latino community, but the nation as a whole because
it advances the basic American principles of equal opportunity and equal
access to justice for all in our society."

"The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce fully supports the
confirmation of Judge Sotomayor and we urge the Senate to not delay this
confirmation. Her independent outlook, record of excellence, and strong
integrity are what our nation needs in a Supreme Court Justice," stated
Augustine Martinez, President, USHCC. "She is a role model of strength, focus,
and discipline and exemplifies the American ethos, proving that anyone in this
nation can fulfill their dreams, matching their potential with opportunity."

LatinoJustice PRLDEF has received support and recognition over the years from
distinguished leaders such as Senator Jacob Javits, former U.S. Attorney
General Nicholas Katzenbach, former New York Attorney General Robert Adams,
New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, and New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg. In addition, past directors include former New York
Governor Hugh Carey, the Honorable Jose Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit, and Herman Badillo, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow
and former Congressman.

To read the full letter, visit the HNBA website at www.hnba.com.

The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is an incorporated,
not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests
of the more than 100,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistants,
and law students of Hispanic descent in the United States, its territories and
Puerto Rico. For more information about the HNBA, please visit www.hnba.com.

SOURCE Hispanic National Bar Association

M. Lucero Ortiz of the Hispanic National Bar Association, +1-202-223-4777,
mlortiz@hnba.com