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Washington » The decision by Democrats to hold a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in mid-July was met with frustration by Republicans who want more time to review her record.
"This process should be fair and thorough, and instead it is being rigged and rushed for no apparent reason other than that the majority can do so," said Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hatch described as a "unilateral partisan edict" the decision by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to start the hearings July 13.
"Injecting such partisanship at the beginning easily can result in greater conflict and division further down the confirmation road," the Utah senator warned in a speech on the Senate floor.
Leahy defended the timeline saying: "This is a reasonable schedule that is in line with past experiences."
Democrats, such as New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, said Republicans are trying to delay Sotomayor's nomination, simply for the sake of delay.
But Hatch said Republicans need the time to review all of the decisions she has made as a federal district judge and a member of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
"I've been informed that there have been some 4,000 decisions," Hatch said. "My gosh, that is going to take some time to go through those decisions."
Republicans, including Hatch, have said it is likely that
If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court and the first Latina.
Sotomayor is continuing a heavy schedule of private meetings with senators this week. She has already spent an hour with Hatch and is expected to meet with Utah Sen. Bob Bennett on Thursday.
