Confirmation Hearings For Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor Begin

WASHINGTON - JULY 13: Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor (L) arrives for her confirmation hearing with ranking member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) (R) and committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (C) before the Senate Judiciary Committee July 13, 2009 in Washington, DC. Sotomayor, now an appeals court judge and U.S. President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court nominee, will become the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court if confirmed. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)