FACTBOX: Quotes from Sotomayor U.S. confirmation hearing
(Reuters) - Senators began questioning President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Monday, launching hearings expected to end with her winning endorsement for a seat on the top U.S. court as its first Hispanic justice.
Here are some quotes from the first day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SUPREME COURT NOMINEE SONIA SOTOMAYOR
"Throughout my seventeen years on the bench, I have witnessed the human consequences of my decisions. Those decisions have been made not to serve the interests of any one litigant, but always to serve the larger interest of impartial justice."
"In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law -- it is to apply the law."
"... (My) personal and professional experiences help me listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case."
REPUBLICAN SENATOR LINDSAY GRAHAM
"Unless you have a complete meltdown you're going to get confirmed."
"I don't know how I'm going to vote, but my inclination is that elections matter. ... President Obama won the election and I will respect that."
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN
"Supreme Court justices are much more than umpires calling balls and strikes, and the word 'activist' is often used to describe opinion on only one side."
REPUBLICAN SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY
"An impressive legal record and superior intellect are not the only criteria that we on this committee have to consider. ... We want to be absolutely certain that the nominee will faithfully interpret the law and the Constitution without bias and prejudice. This is the most critical qualification of a Supreme Court justice."
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR SHELDON WHITEHOUSE
"These calls for restraint and modesty and complaints about activist judges are often code words seeking a particular kind of judge who will deliver a particular set of political outcomes.
"The pretense that Republican nominees embody modesty and restraint or that Democratic nominees must be activist runs starkly counter to recent history."
REPUBLICAN SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS, RANKING REPUBLICAN
(Referring to comments by Obama that he wanted to nominate someone to the court who could bring empathy and a common touch:)
"I fear this 'empathy standard' is another step down the road to a liberal activist, results-oriented and relativistic world where laws lose their fixed meaning, unelected judges set policy, Americans are seen as members of separate groups rather than simply Americans, and where the constitutional limits on government power are ignored when politicians want to buy out private companies."
"So, we have reached a fork in the road. And there are stark differences between the two paths."
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY, THE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
"I trust that all members of this committee here today will reject the efforts of partisans and outside pressure groups that have sought to create a caricature of Judge Sotomayor while belittling her record, her achievements and her intelligence. Let no one demean this extraordinary woman, her success or her understanding of the constitutional duties she has faithfully performed for the last 17 years."
REPUBLICAN SENATOR TOM COBURN
"Judge Sotomayor, you must prove to the Senate that you will adhere to the proper role of a judge. You must demonstrate that you will strictly interpret the Constitution and our laws and will not be swayed by your personal biases or political preferences."
(Reporting by Andrew Quinn, James Vicini and Tabassum Zakaria in Washington, Editing by Will Dunham)
