UPDATED: Historic Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings Underway

***3:05 p.m. Update July 13***

Sotomayor Says The Law, Not Beliefs, Drove Rulings During Opening Statement

WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the law, not her personal and professional experiences, has driven her rulings as a judge.

In her opening statement Monday, Sotomayor said she forms her rulings “by setting out what the law requires and then by explaining why a contrary position, sympathetic or not, is accepted or rejected.“

She seemed to be directly answering concerns raised by Republicans who say she might let her own emotions and opinions drive her rulings. They have repeatedly cited a speech in which she said a “wise Latina” woman might be better able than a white man to issue rulings because of her life’s experiences.

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Senator Lindsey Graham: Sotomayor’s In Unless She Has Meltdown

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate Judiciary Committee Republican has told Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor she’ll be confirmed “unless you have a complete meltdown.“

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday he didn’t think that would happen. He also said he wasn’t ready to announce how he will vote on the native of South Bronx.

The South Carolina Republican said there’s no way he could know “what’s in your heart,“ but said he didn’t think that was relevant to her qualifications. Graham said that fellow Republicans “just feel unnerved by your speeches,“ singling out one in which she said that a “wise Latina” woman might be better suited to make legal judgments than a white man with different experiences.

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Abortion Protester Whisked Out Of Sotomayor Hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) - An anti-abortion protester briefly disrupted the opening of Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination hearing.

The outburst came during Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s opening statement Monday. A man in room interrupted her remarks by shouting: “Senator. What about the unborn!“ He called abortion “genocide.“

Security quickly took him out. Sotomayor turned her head briefly toward her family and friends seated in the front row as the man was taken away and his shouts faded.

The episode prompted a warning by committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy that no displays for or against the nominee would be tolerated from observers.

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Senator Jeff Sessions gives Sotomayor tough greeting at hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has greeted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor with skepticism.

Sen. Jeff Sessions on Monday cited Sotomayor’s much-publicized remarks about the notion that a “wise Latina” woman might be better suited than a white male without the same life experiences.

At the same time, the Alabama senator criticized President Barack Obama’s statement that he preferred someone for the high court who has shown empathy with people. He said that “empathy for one party is always prejudice for the other.“

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Historic Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings Underway

WASHINGTON (AP) - In the glare of bright lights, Sen. Patrick Leahy called to order confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor that she hopes will make history and knows will be closely followed by millions.

It was all happening in a large, square Senate office building hearing room, relatively unadorned compared to the cavernous sancturaries elsewhere on Capitol Hill. Leahy briefly discussed plans for senators to speak and looked straight into the eyes of the 55-year-old native New Yorker, welcoming her to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and third woman to sit on the high court bench. A smiling Sotomayor greeted some senators and took her seat, ready to hear opening statements and make her own case publicly for the first time.

The drama and tension of the moment was palpable as senators took their seats, photographers jockeyed for position and the hearing room was filled to capacity.