Judicious and thoughtful investments in juvenile justice systems as well as juvenile programming goes a long way toward preventing crime committed by juveniles.

I mean, given your tremendous knowledge of the law and your preparation, I'm pretty sure you would have run into any example of where this had happened.

Good judges understand that their job is not to impose their own personal opinions of right and wrong.

It said 'no' to the Bush Administration's view that it could set up a law-free zone at Guantanamo Bay.

That is why I suggest to everyone watching today that they be a little wary of a phrase that they are hearing at this hearing: 'judicial activism.'

I am afraid our system will only be further corrupted, I have to say, as a result of President Obama's views that, in tough cases, the critical ingredient for a judge is the 'depth and breadth of one's empathy,' as well as, his word…

I hope that the Committee will continue to explore Judge Sotomayor's views on this important issue.

It is a great honor for Judge Sotomayor that President Obama has nominated her to the United States Supreme Court.

I have faith that the Senate and this Committee will not let those politics get in the way.

Her qualifications for the Supreme Court would ordinarily be a no-brainer but for the politics of judicial nomination.

I swell with pride when I contemplate the possibility that my high school classmate may ascend to the highest court in the land.

When the Supreme Court declares that the Constitution evolves--and it declares further that foreign law may affect its evolution--it is declaring nothing less than the power of foreign governments to change the meaning of the United States…

the Supreme Court not only has the power, as you know, to decide cases and to construe the Constitution, but it also has the sole and absolute power to decide which cases it hears.

But some of the court's most important landmark hearings--landmark rulings overruled longstanding precedent, like Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal segregation.

The President has asked us to entrust you with an immense amount of power--power which, by design, is free from political constraints.

It said 'no' to the Administration's decision to create military commissions without congressional authorization.

Senator Feinstein just suggested these momentous decisions were not simply the result of an umpire calling balls and strikes.

These were courageous decisions, and in my opinion, they were correct decisions.