Calling All Supporters -- We Urge You to Write Your Senators in Support of Sotomayor!

To ensure a smooth and bi-partisan Senate confirmation, we urge you to write to your Senators, copying the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in support of Judge Sotomayor.

Dear [Insert Your Senator's Name]:

President Obama made an inspired choice in his nomination of the Honorable Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.

Judge Sotomayor’s personal and professional experiences make her uniquely sensitive and qualified to address the concerns of all Americans.
Raised by a widowed mother in a Bronx housing project, she worked hard to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton and to become an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Upon graduation she went to work as an Assistant Manhattan District Attorney under the legendary Robert Morgenthau, prosecuting criminal defendants. She later became a partner at the international firm of Pavia & Harcourt.

Judge Sotomayor’s legal career has included not only criminal prosecution and commercial litigation, but also academia and appointment to the federal bench at the age of thirty-eight. For the past ten years, her intellect, integrity, and consensus-building have made her a highly respected jurist on the Second Circuit. This followed a distinguished career as a federal trial judge, during which Judge Sotomayor’s pragmatism and resolve brought the national baseball strike to an end that satisfied all parties. She then taught for over nine years at the New York University School of Law and at Columbia Law School and has been a mentor to hundreds of attorneys and students as a member of the Puerto Rican and the Hispanic National Bar Associations. This wealth of experience has impressed upon her both the law’s potential, as well as its limits.

Since her nomination was announced, praise has been deafening. At the same time, however, predictable but unfounded pronouncements from the radical right are unfairly attempting to tarnish Judge Sotomayor’s reputation.

The Senate has a duty to hold thorough and fair confirmation hearings, which I expect. The American people are watching carefully to ensure that, in Senator McConnell’s words, the Senate treats Judge Sotomayor fairly.

President Obama was correct in noting that of all the candidates for the Supreme Court, Judge Sotomayor was the one who possessed the consummate legal skills combined with a wide-ranging personal and professional background. Judge Sotomayor is the best choice for our country’s next Supreme Court Justice. I hope and trust that you will enthusiastically support her nomination.

Sincerely,
[Insert name and signature]
Cc: Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman (D-VT)
Hon. Jeff Sessions, Ranking Member (R-AL)
Hon. Herb Kohl (D-WI) (Fax: 202-224-9787)
Hon. Arlen Spector (D-PA) (Fax: not available; call his office for details: Tel: (202)-224-4254
Hon. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (Fax: 202- 228-3954)
Hon. Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) (Fax: 202- 224-6331)
Hon. Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) (Fax: 202-224-2725)
Hon. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) (Fax: not available; call his office for details: (202) 224-3744
Hon. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) (Fax: 202-228-3027)
Hon. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) (Fax: 202-224-2207)
Hon. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) (Fax: 202-228-0400)
Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) (Fax: 202-224-1651)
Hon. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) (Fax: not available; call his office for details: (202) 224-5972
Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) (Fax: 202-228-6362)
Hon. John Cornyn (R-TX) (Fax: 202-228-2856)
Hon. Ron Wyden (R-OK) (Fax: 202- 228-2717)
Hon. Tom Coburn (D-OR) (Fax: 202-224-6008)
Hon. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (Fax: 202-228-2186)
Hon. Edward Kaufman (D-DE) (Fax: 202- 228-3075)

Below are some basic instructions for preparing and sending a letter of support in order to ensure the letter is properly received:

1. Use the template above or write a persuasive, professional letter making the case for why you believe that Judge Sotomayor would make for an outstanding Supreme Court Justice. Key points to stress are:
Judge Sotomayor’s record of achievement, including her stellar education and substantial experience as a highly respected jurist in the Second Circuit and as a trial judge in the Southern District of New York;
Sotomayor's accomplishments as a litigator in an international law firm;

Sotomayor’s accomplishments as a former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney under Robert Morgenthau.
2. Hit the following link http://www.abanet.org/publiced/hispanic_s.html to learn more about Judge Sotomayor’s background.

3. Address the letter your two Senators with cc to the Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy and Ranking Member Jeff Sessions and then send by fax. You can obtain contact details for your Senator directly by consulting the Senate directory: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC

Senate Judiciary Leaders
Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
ChairmanCommittee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Fax (202) 224 3479

Honorable Jeff Sessions
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
335 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Fax (202) 224-3149

Please send the letter by fax. Email is not the best method for submitting a letter of support and regular mail can take a very long time to arrive due to security concerns. Make sure you fax the letter to your home state federal Senators and the Senators of the Judiciary Committee.