U.S. Supreme Court

FILE - In this June 8, 2009, file photo Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor walks on crutches on her way to a meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington. When the curtain rises Monday, July 13, 2009, on Sotomayor's nomination to become the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice, a large cast of ambitious players will be ready to explore themes ranging from racial conflict to legal controversy to highly personal facts and views. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - In this June 8, 2009, file photo Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor walks on crutches on her way to a meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington. When the curtain rises Monday, July 13, 2009, on Sotomayor's nomination to become the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice, a large cast of ambitious players will be ready to explore themes ranging from racial conflict to legal controversy to highly personal facts and views. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

LISTEN TO COMPLETE HEARING AUDIO | Arguments were made Tuesday in the historic Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case over President Bush's wartime powers. Audio of the entire 90-minute hearing is available above. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON -- Live from the Capitol, Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings promise high political theater this week, beamed to the world in dramatic, historic, perhaps comedic glory.


White House officials spent hours this week preparing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor for what they anticipate will be a concerted Republican effort to portray her as an "activist" jurist and will counter that her 17 years on the bench are a display of judicial restraint.


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Women's groups quiet on Sotomayor (AP, July 10, 2009; 9:31 PM)

Mock exercises prepare Sotomayor for hearings (AP, July 10, 2009; 6:20 AM)

Discuss Analysis of Sotomayor's Rulings (washingtonpost.com, July 9, 2009; 3:00 PM)

Documents on Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor Posted Online (Post, July 9, 2009; 1:30 PM)

India Supreme Court steps into gay sex law dispute (AP, July 9, 2009; 6:52 AM)

Analysis: Sotomayor record thin on executive power (AP, July 9, 2009; 3:10 AM)

Uncommon Detail Marks Rulings by Sotomayor:  She Almost Oversteps Her Role, Experts Say (Post, July 9, 2009)

Sotomayor critics step up rhetoric before hearing (AP, July 8, 2009; 12:34 AM)

Sotomayor gets boost in bid for Senate approval (Reuters, July 7, 2009; 2:56 PM)

Noriega asks US Supreme Court to block extradition (AP, July 7, 2009; 1:32 PM)

Lawyers' group: Sotomayor well qualified for court (AP, July 7, 2009; 11:09 AM)

Wasted Money Is Funny, But Not When It's Ours (Dan Levy, July 3, 2009; 4:41 PM)

GOP, White House at odds on Sotomayor documents (AP, July 3, 2009; 1:57 AM)

Ricci Decision Moves Toward Equal Protection (By Charles Krauthammer, July 3, 2009)

Obama says court still allows for racial diversity (AP, July 2, 2009; 3:25 PM)

Parsing the Court: Did Souter Offer Advice to Gay-Marriage Proponents?:  Did Souter Offer Advice to Gay-Marriage Proponents? (Post, July 2, 2009)

The Race Issue That's Not Going Away (By David S. Broder, July 2, 2009)

Legal group's records tell little about Sotomayor (AP, July 1, 2009; 7:09 PM)

Minnesota Supreme Court Decides in Favor of Al Franken (washingtonpost.com, July 1, 2009; 11:00 AM)

Court rulings loom on campaign funds, civil rights (AP, July 1, 2009; 5:57 AM)

Supreme Court decisions made in the 2008-09 term (AP, July 1, 2009; 3:07 AM)

Franken wins Minn. Senate race; Coleman concedes (AP, July 1, 2009; 12:23 AM)

Decisions Indicate Supreme Court Moved Rightward This Term:  Roberts-Led March Likely to Continue (Post, July 1, 2009)

Court: Stay tuned on campaign funds, civil rights (AP, June 30, 2009; 7:26 PM)

Foes of Sotomayor emboldened by discimination case (AP, June 30, 2009; 6:16 PM)

Supreme Court decisions made in the 2008-09 term (AP, June 30, 2009; 5:00 PM)

Post Politics: Sotomayor, Gay Pride, More (washingtonpost.com, June 30, 2009; 11:00 AM)

Reverse discrimination ruling leaves confusion (AP, June 30, 2009; 3:06 AM)

Supreme Court to Review Restrictions on Corporate Spending in Federal Elections (Post, June 30, 2009)

Ruling on Firefighters Unlikely to Hurt Sotomayor's Chances, Experts Say (Post, June 30, 2009)

Washington Sketch: Mr. Smith Leaves Washington (By Dana Milbank, June 30, 2009)

On Race, the Slog Goes On (By George F. Will, June 30, 2009)

Supreme Court Ruling Lets States Take National Banks to Court Over Lending:  Supreme Court Gives States Power to Take Nationally Chartered Banks to Court Over Lending Practices (Post, June 30, 2009)

Justices Rule in Favor of White Firefighters in Racial-Bias Case:  Sotomayor's Decision Is Overturned (Post, June 30, 2009)

White firefighters win Supreme Court appeal (AP, June 29, 2009; 9:26 PM)

Discrimination ruling shapes Sotomayor debate (AP, June 29, 2009; 5:58 PM)

Court raises stakes in anti-Hillary movie (AP, June 29, 2009; 5:09 PM)

Supreme Court overrules Obama nominee in race bias case (Reuters, June 29, 2009; 5:08 PM)

Court takes case over licensing of NFL apparel (AP, June 29, 2009; 5:04 PM)

Souter bids goodbye to Supreme Court colleagues (AP, June 29, 2009; 3:43 PM)

Top court agrees to hear case on NFL licensing (Reuters, June 29, 2009; 3:31 PM)

Firefighters' Case Shouldn't Haunt Sotomayor (Eva Rodriguez, June 29, 2009; 3:11 PM)

Court rejects Mo. appeal on funeral protest law (AP, June 29, 2009; 2:46 PM)

Court: State can apply some laws to national banks (AP, June 29, 2009; 2:23 PM)

Supreme Court: Firefighters Decision, and Madoff Sentencing (washingtonpost.com, June 29, 2009; 12:15 PM)

Honduran Military Sends President Into Exile; Supportive Congress Names Successor:  Zelaya Flown to Costa Rica; Congress Votes Him Out, Names Successor (Post, June 29, 2009)

Roberts: Supreme Court not setting school rules (AP, June 28, 2009; 6:46 AM)

Most Americans Want Sotomayor on Supreme Court, Poll Indicates:  Poll Indicates That 62 Percent Think Federal Judge Should Be Confirmed by Senate (Post, June 28, 2009)

Justices Will Clarify School Rules but Not Set Them, Roberts Says (Post, June 28, 2009)

Congress Can Fix Its Mistakes on the Voting Rights Act (By Lynn Westmoreland, June 28, 2009)

Post Politics: Supreme Court, Sanford, More (washingtonpost.com, June 26, 2009; 11:00 AM)

Defendants May Confront Forensics Analysts, Supreme Court Rules (Post, June 26, 2009)

Supreme Court Rules Strip Search Violated 13-Year-Old Girl's Rights:  School Violated Teen Girl's Rights, Supreme Court Rules (Post, June 26, 2009)

Voter Registration Is Key to Election Process (By Robert Bauer and Trevor Potter, June 25, 2009)

Politics on Display in Voting Rights Decision (By E.J. Dionne Jr., June 25, 2009)

Supreme Court Favors Parents in Battle Over Private Special-Education Tuition (Post, June 23, 2009)

Supreme Court Upholds 1965 Voting Rights Act but Hints at Change (Post, June 23, 2009)

In the Loop: Guess the Vote on Sotomayor (By Al Kamen, June 22, 2009)

OTHER ACTION BY THE COURT (Post, June 19, 2009)

Supreme Court Rules That Convicts Lack Constitutional Right to DNA Testing:  Justices Rule That Inmates Lack Constitutional Right to Testing (Post, June 19, 2009)

Senators Warn Court Against 'Activism' on Voting Rights Law (44, June 17, 2009; 5:11 PM)

Asked by Fox, Americans Find Supreme Court Justices Hard to Recall (44, June 16, 2009; 1:11 PM)

White House Rides Herd on Diverse and Zealous Group of Sotomayor Supporters:  White House Guides Fervent Sotomayor Supporters (Post, June 15, 2009)

In the Loop: Knock on Sotomayor Won't Be Inexperience (By Al Kamen, June 12, 2009)

Post Politics: Supreme Court, DADT, Sotomayor, More (washingtonpost.com, June 10, 2009; 11:30 AM)

The Fine Line of Anti-Bias Law (By Ruth Marcus, June 10, 2009)

Post Politics: Obama's Poll Numbers, Sarah Palin, More (washingtonpost.com, June 9, 2009; 11:00 AM)

Making Law on the Supreme Court (By Kevin Baine, June 9, 2009)

Supreme Court Delays Chrysler's Swift Sale:  Justices May Consider Creditors' Appeal (Post, June 9, 2009)

Campaign Contributions Can Lead to Judicial Bias, Supreme Court Rules (Post, June 9, 2009)

Supreme Court Turns Down 'Don't Ask' Challenge (Post, June 8, 2009; 3:02 PM)

Lenders Ask Supreme Court to Hear Their Appeal Over Chrysler Sale (Post, June 8, 2009)

The Nominee's Jurisprudence (Post, June 7, 2009)

Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor's Votes Cross Ideological Lines (Post, June 7, 2009)

High Court Justices Release Financial Data (Post, June 6, 2009)

In the Words of Sonia Sotomayor (Post, June 5, 2009)

Ethnicity and Gender Play Prominent Roles in Sotomayor's Speeches:  High Court Nominee Criticized Stereotypes (Post, June 5, 2009)

Gritty First Job as Manhattan Prosecutor Helped Forge Sotomayor:  Years as N.Y. Prosecutor Gave Sotomayor Firsthand Look at Crime and Punishment (Post, June 4, 2009)

Beyond Bork? Don't Count on It (By David S. Broder, June 4, 2009)

Post Politics: Sessions, Sotomayor, More (washingtonpost.com, June 3, 2009; 11:00 AM)

Conservative Judges' Gun Ruling in Agreement With Sotomayor (Post, June 3, 2009)

Sessions, GOP's Lead on Panel Weighing Sotomayor, Was Once Rejected for Bench:  GOP's Lead on Judiciary Panel Was Once Rejected for Bench (Post, June 3, 2009)

Unsympathetic Argument Against Empathy (Dan Froomkin, June 2, 2009; 9:11 PM)

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