After weeks of political posturing and much anticipation the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor is underway in Washington.
Sotomayor has strong support among democrats and, polls show, the majority of the American public.
But many republicans argue the judge is out of touch with the mainstream, pointing to a controversial comment from Sotomayor that the life experiences of a "wise Latina" would allow her to arrive at a better result than a white male judge.
Some suggest that the president's praise of Sotomayor as 'empathetic' is really a code word for biased- believing her personal views could cloud her judgment.
After a day of opening statements, questioning of Sotomayor is set to begin on Tuesday. She's sure to face heavy republican questioning over her role in an appellate panel that ruled against white Connecticut firefighters in a reverse discrimination case. Her decision was recently overturned by the Supreme Court she hopes to join.
Latino groups said they will be closely watching the proceedings to see if the senators are treating the judge unfairly.
With a potential of 60 democratic votes and even some republicans that have signaled they would vote for confirmation, only a major misstep would prevent Sotomayor from taking her seat as the first Latina on the nation's highest court.
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