Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee had the ultimate photo op during the confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor. It's been a while since they have gotten so much media attention, so the hearings gave them the perfect forum in which to ask “tough” questions so their constituents could see how they are looking out for their best interests. And they did ask.

The senators pressed Judge Sotomayor, who is on the verge of becoming the first Supreme Court justice of Hispanic heritage, on traditional hot-button issues, such as abortion, gun control and same-sex marriage. But with a solid, almost impeccable record and a wealth of experience, it wasn't easy to dig up dirt on her, so instead they focused on a line in a speech given in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, in which she stressed her credentials as a “wise Latina.”

The one line in the speech that has caused an uproar among some of her critics is when she said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.” Sotomayor's critics have expressed concern that her comments amount to “reverse racism,” that she would be influenced by her ethnicity and her gender in making important decisions on the highest court in the nation.

Sotomayor attempted to quail the criticism by virtually taking back her words. She stated that while she still believes in the message she was trying to deliver during that now-infamous speech, her choice of words was “a bad idea.” She clarified her point by saying, “I think life experiences generally, whether it's that I'm a Latina or was a state prosecutor or have been a commercial litigator or been a trial judge and an appellate judge, that the mixture of all of those things, the amalgam of them help me to listen and understand.”

So, was it a good idea to take back her words in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee? We are just going to have to trust her wisdom in doing so. It is possible she realized that as a judge, nothing in your background should influence your decision- 
making, particularly in the Supreme Court, when cases that reach that level have been scrutinized over and over again. As she said, her judicial philosophy is fidelity to the law. Analyze the details, study precedents and apply the law.

However, her words were right in so many ways. The richness of your experiences throughout the years makes you who you are as an individual. That is so for both men and women in different walks of life. But when it comes to being a Latino woman, having gone through what Sotomayor had to endure since a very young age, those experiences had to have made her wiser and much more empathetic.

Sotomayor's life is an example of the challenges that so many Hispanics in this country face, growing up in a low-income neighborhood and being raised by a single mother, who instilled in her a strong work ethic and taught her the virtues needed to flourish in a competitive society.

But in general, Latina women are strong individuals who have to learn to survive in a macho society. From the time we are little girls, we are guided by two cultures, two sets of traditions and, most of the time, two languages. We are taught to cherish family values, to be responsible, to be honest and loyal, to be courageous, compassionate and prudent. We are expected to be humble yet confident, respectful yet assertive. To feel comfortable with who we are, regardless of the color of our skin, the texture of our hair or the accent in our speech.

Sonia Sotomayor brings a lot of professional experience to the Supreme Court, and her record shows she can be expected to be a fair and impartial magistrate. But the way she handled herself during the tough line of questioning in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which virtually assures her nomination as the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, shows that she most certainly is a “wise Latina.”

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2009 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate