[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 91 (Friday, July 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7920-S7921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NOMINATION OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR TO BE A JUDGE ON THE SECOND CIRCUIT COURT 
                               OF APPEALS

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, there has been some discussion in the 
press of late concerning a ruling in Federal District Court of the 
Southern District of New York involving a business coalition in 
Manhattan called the Grand Central Partnership. In this case, Archie v. 
Grand Central Partnership, Inc. (1998 WL 122589, 1998 U.S. Dist. Lexis 
3599, S.D.N.Y. 1998), the judge agreed with the plaintiffs who had 
brought suit against the partnership demanding to be paid at minimum 
wage rates pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
and the New York State Minimum Wage Act. The language of the decision 
reads as follows:

       Despite the attractive nature of the defendants' program in 
     serving the needs of the homeless, the question of whether 
     such a program should be exempted from the minimum wage laws 
     is a policy decision either Congress or the Executive Branch 
     should make. . . . The Court, however, cannot grant an 
     exemption where one does not exist in law.

  Setting aside any personal bias, the judge ruled solely on the basis 
of law.
  In Bartlett v. New York State Board of Law Examiners (970 F. Supp. 
1094, S.D.N.Y. 1997), this same judge ruled in favor of one Marilyn 
Bartlett, an applicant with a learning disability similar to dyslexia, 
who sought admission to the State bar. The Board of Law Examiners had 
denied Bartlett's special accommodation--in this case, an extension of 
time limitations in which to take the bar examination. The judge found 
that the Americans With Disabilities Act clearly required the board to 
provide the accommodation. Again, this decision was made--as it ought 
to have been made--on the basis of law. Nothing more.
  The district court judge in both of these matters was the Honorable 
Sonia Sotomayor of the Southern District of New York, who now seeks 
confirmation from this body for appointment to the Second Circuit of 
the United States Court of Appeals.
  May I take just a moment to thank the distinguished chairman, Senator 
Hatch, and ranking member, Senator Leahy, and the members of the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  With confirmation earlier this year of Robert Sack, Chester Straub, 
and Rosemary Pooler, the judicial emergency in the Second Circuit 
declared by Chief Judge Ralph K. Winter on March 23 will soon be over.
  It will be over, Mr. President, when Judge Sotomayor is confirmed by 
the Senate. She has been reported by the Judiciary Committee.
  A little over one year ago, President Clinton nominated Judge 
Sotomayor to fill a vacancy on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The 
Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on September 30, 1997 and she 
was reported out by a vote of 16 to 2 on March 5 of this year.
  Seven years ago, in March 1991, it was my honor to recommend Sonia 
Sotomayor to serve on the Southern District Court of New York. 
President Bush placed her name in nomination shortly thereafter and she 
was sworn in on October 2, 1992.
  The distinguished members of the Committee on the Judiciary were 
surely impressed with the background and accomplishments of this 
extraordinary woman. Sonia Sotomayor was raised in the projects of the 
South Bronx. Her father, Juan Luis, worked in a tool and die factory 
while her mother, Celina, worked as a nurse. Through discipline and 
hard work she was graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University 
in 1976, receiving the university's highest distinction, the M. Taylor 
Pyne Honor Prize. She went on to graduate from Yale Law School in 1979 
where she served as editor of the Yale Law Journal.
  After law school, Ms. Sotomayor joined the New York County District 
Attorney's office. After more than five years there she moved to the 
firm of Pavia & Harcourt, attaining the position of partner. She is a 
former member of the New York City Campaign Finance Board and the New 
York State Mortgage Agency. All of these achievements are detailed in 
Ms. Sotomayor's resume which I ask, without objection, be incorporated 
into my remarks.
  Her service on the Southern District Court has been exemplary. In 
5\1/2\ years, having presided over 500 cases, she has been overturned 
only six times. Her decisions are scholarly, well-researched, and well-
reasoned. She has presided over cases of enormous complexity with skill 
and confidence.
  My colleagues will likely recall that it was Judge Sotomayor who put 
an end to the baseball strike in 1995. Her ruling in Silverman v. Major 
League Baseball Player Relations Committee, Inc., 880 F. Supp. 246 
(S.D.N.Y. 1995) was upheld by the very court she now seeks to join.
  During the course of her confirmation hearing before the Judiciary 
Committee, some questions were introduced regarding Judge Sotomayor's 
position on mandatory sentencing and Federal sentencing guidelines. As 
of October 1997, in the 217 criminal cases over which she presided, she 
departed downward a total of 58 times. Forty-four of those departures 
were at the Government's specific request, because of the defendant's 
substantial assistance. Excluding such departures, the Judge has 
departed downward in only 6.5 percent of her criminal cases. The judge 
has upwardly departed in 6 of her 217 criminal cases, an average of 2.7 
percent.
  A recent New York Law Journal article reports on the 1996 sentencing 
practices of Federal district judges. Comparing Judge Sotomayor's 
sentencing record to these statistics, it is apparent that Judge 
Sotomayor is more conservative in sentencing than many of her 
colleagues on the Federal bench.

[[Page S7921]]

Her 6.5 percent downward departure rate is below the national average 
of 10.3 percent, and well below the Second Circuit average of 15.2 
percent. Her upward departure rate of 2.7 percent is three times the 
national average of 0.9 percent.
  Mr. President, we have before us a candidate who embodies all of the 
finest qualities we could possibly ask for in a Federal judge. She is 
brilliant, principled and thoughtful. I can see no reason to prolong 
the process that will lead to her confirmation any further. Surely the 
time has come for us to act.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BREAUX addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.

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