Franken attacks conservative 'activism' on court

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Al Franken, saying that "the past decade has made it a little bit harder for American citizens to defend themselves," took direct aim at the conservative wing of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday during the start of confirmation hearings for Obama administration nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Franken, in his fifth day in office, gave his opening statement moments after fellow Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, who also serves on the Judiciary Committee that is questioning Sotomayor this week.

Klobuchar, who like Franken is in her first Supreme Court hearing, praised Sotomayor's rise from a Bronx housing project to Princeton and Yale and then a career as prosecutor and federal judge.

"I believe your background and experiences, including your understanding of law enforcement, will help you to always remember that the cases you hear involve real people, with real problems, looking for real remedies," Klobuchar said.

"With excellent judgment and a sense of humility, I believe you can be a judge for 'all of us.'"

Franken, a former comedian, suggested that the Sotomayor hearings would be a serious demonstration of the duties spelled out in his recently taken oath of office.

Addressing the ranking Republican on the panel, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Franken said he planned to "follow the example of my good friend and predecessor, Paul Wellstone, who was willing and ready to partner with his colleagues across the aisle."

During the years that the court was led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Franken argued, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas voted to overturn federal laws more often than liberal Justices John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer combined.

Franken's attack appeared designed to counter the standard conservative critique of liberal justices as judicial activists who bend the law to fit personal and social agendas.

"It seems that their definition of an activist judge is one who votes differently than they would like," Franken said.

Franken, along with a few other senators, was interrupted by protesters in the hearing room apparently unhappy with the Sotomayor nomination.

Klobuchar's statement was less combative than Franken's. She focused on a line of past Supreme Court nominees who, like Sotomayor, had overcome adversity and humble origins to rise to the nation's high court.

Klobuchar, one of two women on the Judiciary Committee, also nodded to Sotomayor's status as only the third woman in history to appear before the panel as a Supreme Court nominee, following former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and current Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"You are ... standing on their shoulders," Klobuchar told Sotomayor.