May 26, 2009 - 10:34am

Inside Edge

Sotomayor will be Lautenberg's 11th SCOTUS vote

By Wally Edge

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court is the secondtop court nomination since Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) joined the United States Senate in early 2006. He voted against the nomination of Samuel Alito in 2006. The Sotomayor nomination will be eleventh Supreme Court nomination during the 25 years Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) has served in the Senate.

Lautenberg has voted yes on four Supreme Court nominations -- Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Anthony Kennedy, and Antonin Scalia -- and no on six: Alito, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork, William Rehnquist, and David Souter. Lautenberg was among nine Senators to vote against Souter in 1990. Souter's retirement created the opening for President Obama to nominate Sotomayor, who will become the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the nation's top court.
Jon Corzine voted on one Supreme Court nomination during his five years in the Senate, casting a no vote on Roberts for Chief Justice. Bill Bradley voted on nine top court nominations while in the Senate from 1979 to 1997, supporting Breyer, Ginsberg, Kennedy, Scalia and Sandra Day O'Connor, and opposing Thomas, Souter, Bork and Rehnquist. No Supreme Court nominations were made during Robert Torricelli's six years in the Senate.

Wally Edge can be reached via email at politicsnj@aol.com.

Related topics: Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Samuel Alito, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Robert Torricelli, Robert Menendez, Robert Bork, JON CORZINE, John Roberts, Frank Lautenberg, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Bill Bradley, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy

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