Media Matters - Supreme Court Nominations

Post again ignores conservatives' double standard on judges' reliance on personal experience

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:08:37 EST

Continuing a pattern of ignoring conservatives' support for judicial nominees who have stressed the importance of personal experience, The Washington Post quoted Sen. Jeff Sessions saying he voted against confirming Sonia Sotomayor because, he concluded, she "could not 'set aside her personal opinions and biases.' " But the Post ignored Sessions' vote in favor of Justice Samuel Alito, who discussed the importance of his personal experience during his confirmation hearing.

Wash. Times' Curl invokes Leahy being "legally blind in one eye" while discussing Sotomayor proceedings

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:58:20 EST

Wash. Times' Gaffney falsely claims Sotomayor contradicted herself on use of foreign law

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:44:18 EST

Frank Gaffney cropped comments Sonia Sotomayor made in a recent speech to support his false claim that Sotomayor displayed a "lack of candor before the Judiciary Committee" on the issue of the use of foreign law in American courts.

CNN's Sylvester falsely suggested Sotomayor was inconsistent on use of foreign law

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:01:53 EST

Lisa Sylvester advanced the falsehood that Sonia Sotomayor contradicted herself on the question of whether judges should use foreign law in deciding cases.

Ignoring Alito, Thomas, Wash. Post labels judicial empathy a "liberal" idea

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:26:17 EST

The Washington Post characterized the view "that a judge should have empathy" as "an idea floating within liberal legal thought," ignoring numerous conservatives who have also stressed the importance of personal experience and compassion in judicial nominees.

Hannity smears Franken, falsely alleging he asked Sotomayor about Perry Mason "instead" of "her judicial philosophy"

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:25:44 EST

Sean Hannity falsely claimed that during Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, Al Franken talked about Perry Mason "instead" of questioning Sotomayor about her "judicial philosophy." In fact, Franken asked Sotomayor numerous questions about her "judicial philosophy."

Buchanan falsely suggests Sotomayor has "never written" law review articles

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:37:50 EST

Pat Buchanan claimed that Sonia Sotomayor has "never written anything that I've read in terms of a law review article or a major book or something like that on the law." In fact, Sotomayor has published several law review articles.

Cillizza names Frank Ricci a "loser," but not the Republicans who invited him

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:35:44 EST

: The real story of the Sotomayor hearings

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:34:35 EST

The news media have been so fixated on the question of whether Sonia Sotomayor's much-distorted "wise Latina" comment was racist, they have missed the real story of this week's confirmation hearings: a pattern of inappropriate comments and double-standards that highlight the biases of her critics.

: I guess you could say she's been "sotomayored"

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:53:21 EST

Failed Reagan Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork is probably remembered more as a verb than a judge. Conservative columnist William Safire defined to "bork" as to engage in a vicious attack on "a candidate or appointee, especially by misrepresentation in the media." To accept that definition is to assume that Bork was the victim of "misrepresentation in the media," which by conservative standards means the media failed to buy their spin. To the right, facts, like the media, have an indisputable liberal bias. So what then is it called when conservatives succeed in spinning the media, resulting in misleading and incomplete coverage of a judicial nominee?

What does a Republican have to do to make Cillizza's "Losers" list?

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:01:45 EST

NY Times again ignores conservatives' previous support for judicial empathy

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:44:58 EST

The New York Times again reported Republican attacks over President Obama's "desire for justices with 'empathy,' " without noting that numerous conservatives have stressed the importance of personal experience and compassion in judicial nominees.

On Fox, scant attention to Dems' questioning of Sotomayor

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:56:49 EST

On July 15, Fox News covered two Republicans senators' "first round" questioning of Sonia Sotomayor for 55 minutes, but it covered only 30 minutes of the six Democratic senators' "first round" questions that the committee heard on July 15.

Dobbs let Whelan falsely claim Sotomayor inconsistent on use of foreign law

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:00:07 EST

Lou Dobbs did not challenge the accusation by Ed Whelan that Sonia Sotomayor contradicted herself on the question of whether judges should use foreign law in deciding cases.

Fox's Kelly minimizes Alito's link to "conservative alumni group" -- but Alito didn't

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:54:33 EST

Megyn Kelly said that Samuel Alito "had almost no connection" to the Concerned Alumni of Princeton. But Alito himself regarded his involvement with CAP as worthy of mention in an application for a job with the Reagan administration in 1985.

Media Matters - Supreme Court Nominations

<em>Post</em> again ignores conservatives' double standard on judges' reliance on personal experience

<em>Wash. Times'</em> Curl invokes Leahy being "legally blind in one eye" while discussing Sotomayor proceedings

<em>Wash. Times'</em> Gaffney falsely claims Sotomayor contradicted herself on use of foreign law

CNN's Sylvester falsely suggested Sotomayor was inconsistent on use of foreign law

Ignoring Alito, Thomas, <em>Wash. Post</em> labels judicial empathy a "liberal" idea

Hannity smears Franken, falsely alleging he asked Sotomayor about <em>Perry Mason</em> "instead" of "her judicial philosophy"