Republicans Prepare to Grill Sotomayor

WASHINGTON - The senior Republican senator who will question Sonia Sotomayor says the Supreme Court nominee must demonstrate she will not show bias on the bench.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions tells CBS's "Face the Nation" that in speeches over the past 10 years, Sotomayor has said repeatedly that personal experiences influence a judge's decisions.

Sessions says Sotomayor has criticized the idea that a woman and a man would reach the same result. That point of view, according to Sessions, reflects a philosophy that is incompatible with the American system.

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, says Sotomayor's record shows her to be a "mainstream judge."

Meanwhile, Texas Sen. John Cornyn tells "Fox News Sunday" that Sotomayor will have to explain statements suggesting that judges can't be neutral, but he also acknowledges that her confirmation as the high court's first Hispanic justice won't be blocked.

Cornyn says he and other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee plan to ask Sotomayor
about her comment in 2001 that she hoped a "wise Latina" would often reach better conclusions than a white male without similar experiences.

Cornyn says the statement "was not an isolated comment" and that it is "antithetical to the whole idea of the rule of law."

In the end, though, he says, the 40 Senate Republicans are not going to block her confirmation.

Confirmation hearings for Sotomayor begin Monday.