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Sotomayor Hearings Analyzed; Northwest Florida Murder Case Takes a Sharp Turn; Alabama's Artur Davis Primed to Make History
Aired July 15, 2009 - 15:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, they are in recess right now, as you just heard the chairman, Patrick Leahy, say. They are in recess. They are going to go into another room. And she is going to be questioned now by -- I don't know if it is questioned, but it is more like a background check.
The FBI has done some vetting. And they are going to do this in closed-door session with the members of the committee to make sure there is nothing improper there in her background. So far, everything looks smooth. But this is always done.
It is part of the regular vetting process. The Judiciary Committee is going to meet with her and representatives from the FBI to make sure that everything is good as she goes forward.
And, at some point -- we don't know when -- they will resume round two of the questioning. Each senator will have a maximum of 20 minutes to ask questions, all 19 senators, although, clearly, the chairman, Senator Leahy, is hoping that many of those senators won't use all 20 minutes. They might use five or 10 or 15.
But that will resume later this afternoon at some point. We don't know if it will be an hour from now or two hours from now. He said we will get notice when this hearing will resume.
But let's assess what we just heard. And the most important thing we wanted to get out of the way right away is the "Perry Mason" episode, where Burger, the prosecutor, actually won a case. And we did some checking.
And, Jeff Toobin, I know you grew up watching "Perry Mason."
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Can I just make one thing clear? I am too young to have watched Perry Mason. It was a black- and-white show. I did not watch -- no, this is honest-to-God truth. I did not watch Perry Mason.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me just confess, then, like Sonia Sotomayor and the Senator Al Franken, I watched Perry Mason every week, together with my older sister, occasionally my mom and dad. But, usually, my older sister would watch it.
Well, we had a little black-and-white television in Buffalo, New York. But I didn't remember the case where Burger actually won the case. But we did some checking. It was the case of what is called "The Deadly Verdict" back in 1963. Perry Mason actually lost, and Burger, the DA, won, just to get that out of the way.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Al Franken is right. Senator Franken is right about the value of the Internet.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.
BLITZER: We found that out right away.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: All right, he was a little funny today at the beginning and at the end of his 30-minute Q-and-A, Al Franken. The other day when he gave his opening speech, it was all very, very serious.
But, today, he got into a little bit of his wry sense of humor.
KING: Wry, dry sense of rumor. He was funny at the beginning. He was funny at the end. And in the middle, he asked some very good substantive questions that put her on the spot, asking some of the questions the White House had asked the Democrats, please don't.
Does the Constitution give a right for a woman to have an abortion? How do you define the right to privacy? It is not in the Constitution. Judge, how far to you define it? How far does it extend? Pretty pointed questions that again the White House had urged Democrats, please, don't be so specific on issues like abortion. And he tried to put her on the spot.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: I'm sorry. Go ahead.
MARIA ECHAVESTE, FORMER CLINTON DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I was going to -- and also asked good questions about the Internet, access to speech, and also on the Voting Rights Act. So, he really revealed himself as thoughtful.
(CROSSTALK)
ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: And one of the best questions, judicial activism. And, here, maybe it was when Burger won that case that the legal system began to go down the tubes here.
There are a lot of Americans out there concerned about judicial activism, that laws are being made from the bench, and that they, of course, have very little control over that. One reason might be because some judges are actually doing that.
Now, those judges probably don't say, yes, I am writing the law myself. I am doing it on my own. Probably, when asked in front of a committee like this, they wouldn't say that.
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: And, obviously, we have one today who didn't, who refused to take the bait and wouldn't give her views on that, what I thought was a probing...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let's listen to Senator Al Franken, because he made the point. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA: Candidates or office-holders talk about the -- what kind of judge they want. It is very often just reduced to, I don't want an activist judge. I don't want a judge that's going to legislate. And that is sort of it. That's it. It is the 30-second sound bite.
As I and a couple of other senators mentioned during our opening statements, judicial activism has become a code word for judges that you just -- you don't agree with.
Judge, what is your definition of judicial activism?
JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: It is not a term I use. I don't use the term because I don't describe the work that judges do in that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: That's a very safe answer.
Candy Crowley, she is avoiding getting involved in that, because the biggest complaint of a lot of the liberal or Democratically- appointed judges is they are liberal activists. They want to use the bench to make the law, as opposed to simply interpret the law.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.
And this was a lot like what she said yesterday when she was asked, are you a liberal? And she said, I don't think in those terms.
The fact of the matter is, good as those questions were, we just didn't move this ball down the court very much. And it's...
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: I'm sorry.
CROWLEY: Go ahead.
TOOBIN: There was one very interesting exchange that was a direct response to something, what went on with Lindsey Graham yesterday. Because, remember, Lindsey Graham said, where does the word abortion appear in the Constitution? And she said it didn't. Well, how come we have a right to abortion? It is not in the Constitution.
Well, Franken said, where is the word birth control? It is obviously not in the Constitution. But, in 1965, the court decided Griswold v. Connecticut, which said the state of Connecticut could not ban birth control, the sale of birth control, because it was part of the right to privacy.
And that is actually still a very popular decision, even among conservatives. So, he was making the point that just because words are not in the Constitution doesn't mean the Constitution doesn't protect them, so-called unenumerated rights.
BORGER: And Coburn made that same point again -- again this morning.
TOOBIN: Right.
BORGER: Her answer on judicial activism, though, was so interesting, because she said, "I assume the good faith of all judges."
And that's something we have heard Sandra Day O'Connor talk an awful lot about, because this issue of who is a judicial activist and who isn't has become something that she loves to discuss, as you well know, Jeffrey, because she cares a lot about the judges being maligned and labeled.
BLITZER: And, John, give us the explanation why, to Senator Franken, this is so important?
KING: Well, Senator Franken, when he was a radio host, a liberal radio host, used to often go after conservative judges, George W. Bush's picks and other conservatives on the court, and he would go after conservative politicians, accusing them of -- my term, not his -- hypocrisy, saying, wait a minute, you go after all these liberal judges saying they are activist.
But he views -- or he viewed -- he's a senator now and needs to be more restrained in his comments -- but, when he was a radio host, he would often go after the Justice Scalias and the Justice Thomases of the world, saying that they were doing the very thing conservatives often criticize, that they were trying to legislate from their perch on the highest court in the land. That was his view when he was a liberal radio host.
His show on Air America network was called "The O'Franken Factor." And you can, by reasonable inference, I think, know why he picked that name.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: He even wrote a book about Mr. O'Reilly.
KING: Right. Yes, he did.
(CROSSTALK) KING: You picked that up pretty quick, didn't you?
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Yes.
KING: But he was -- in his previous life, before he was running for elected office and now in elective office, he would often call out what he saw as the hypocrisy of conservatives saying, there are liberal activist judges, when he would say there are conservative activist judges as well, judges on the bench who are trying to impose their ideology.
And it was a big part of who he was in the public sphere before he was an elected public servant. It is very interesting to watch as we get to know him in his first weeks in office how he will change his persona. He clearly has said, like Senator Clinton, now Secretary Clinton -- when Hillary Clinton went to the Senate, everyone said, former first lady. What is she going to do?
What he has said is, I am going to buckle down, I'm going to do my homework, and you will see me to be a serious legislator.
BLITZER: And he was very serious from the beginning to the end.
We are getting new information, by the way, on the Perry Mason episode that was very instrumental, very important during the course of Al Franken's questioning of Sonia Sotomayor.
I had mentioned earlier that -- I had been told that the one case where Perry Mason lost and Burger, the prosecutor, won was "The Case of the Deadly Verdict" back in 1963. But now we are getting this information. It's all on the Web. "The Case of the Terrified Typist" back in 1958, this is one of those rare Perry Mason episodes where Perry actually loses the case and his client, Duane Jefferson, is found guilty. Or is he?
People are going to have to go back and watch that episode and find out what really happened.
All right, we will take another quick break, continue our coverage, check in to see what else is happening on this day around the world -- much more coming up right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: All right, this is the U.S. Capitol.
The House -- excuse me -- the Senate Judiciary Committee is now in recess. They are meeting behind closed with the Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, and the FBI doing a little background check on her, make sure everything is good. The members will have an opportunity to hear the report from the FBI agents who went through her background to make sure everything was appropriate.
And we assume everything certainly was appropriate. The most recent senator to ask questions was the newest senator, Al Franken, only been a senator for about a week, Al Franken of Minnesota.
And a lot of our viewers are going to find it a bit of an adjustment to associate Al Franken with being a United States senator, as opposed to his persona when he was a comedy writer or a comedian on "Saturday Night Live." And among the various characters he portrayed was Stuart Smalley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")
FRANKEN: I'm good enough. I'm smart enough, and, doggone it, people like me.
Hello. I'm Stuart Smalley.
Well, I'm still receiving some negative reaction from my show about Pee-wee Herman entitled "There But For the Grace of God Go I."
(LAUGHTER)
FRANKEN: And I have to admit it was not my best show, but that's OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He was very funny. In fact, he was always funny. He showed some of that humor at the beginning and at the end of his 30- minute questioning of Sonia Sotomayor.
But it is, Candy, going to take a little bit of adjustment for our viewers who knew him as a comedian, a comedy writer a performer, later an Air America radio talk show host, and now he's a United States senator.
CROWLEY: It will for most of our viewers. It will not for his state, because they have seen the serious Al Franken, who is up on the issues and knows what his state is looking for, for the past year, and then, of course, the six months it took him to actually get sworn in.
But, nonetheless, I don't think it is all that surprising. People always say that comics are really smart because they are quick and they go at it. And I think one of the things we saw here is, he is also a really quick study, because he started asking the questions. And she would go, well, I really can't -- and he goes, you're not going to answer, right?
And then he would move on, which is pretty much what Arlen Specter did, except for in a kind of older guy way, when he would just cut her off and say, OK, fine, and where Franken actually did the same thing, just in a sort of lighthearted way.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me ask Alex Castellanos, our Republican strategist, CNN contributor.
How do you think he did tonight?
CASTELLANOS: I thought Al Franken did well.
It is quite a challenge when you have a brand, when you are known to a lot of folks in such an intense way, cutting-edge humor, to come to the U.S. Senate and change that and become taken seriously.
Hillary Clinton, first lady, goes to the U.S. Senate. Would she bring that old persona with her? Well, she worked long and hard, you know, the pothole senator at first in New York State, to become known as a serious person. Bill Bradley, basketball star, goes to the U.S. Senate and wants to become known as an intellect. And he achieved that.
Franken, you saw today, frankly, taking a little bit of risk, maintaining some of the old and the new, willing to have some fun, but also demonstrate some depth.
It is interesting, the generational change, how old-school the U.S. senator looks when you see someone like Lindsey Graham on the Republican side and Al Franken on the Democratic side both use not the fancy highfalutin Senate stiff language, but the kind of language we might all use around the kitchen table.
And I think it makes the Senate so much more accessible and makes them appear so much more honest.
BORGER: And the questions were also different, because you had Arlen Specter talking about congressional prerogative, talking about separate of powers, talking about issues that as a senator for a very long time he has been deeply involved with. Why didn't the Supreme Court take up terror surveillance, for example?
I mean, these are very important issues to a senator who has been a chairman of a committee, who understands the way Congress works, who wants the Supreme Court to define what Congress' role properly. And you have your newest senator talking about the Internet.
BLITZER: And there was a marked contrast between the way Al Franken had his 30 minutes of questioning and Arlen Specter, the really senior formerly Republican, later -- now Democratic senator asked his questions.
At the end, maybe the last minute or two, he was very nice to Sonia Sotomayor and praised her as outstanding. But, for 28 minutes, he grilled her. He was very tough on her, asked long, very detailed questions, and complained when she didn't have answers that he liked, saying, look, I told you in advance I was going to ask you these questions. You should know this. Let's listen to this little clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOTOMAYOR: I know that, with some important issues, they want to make sure that there isn't the procedural bar to the case of some type that would take away from whether they are, in fact, doing what they would want to do, which is to...
(CROSSTALK)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, was there a procedural bar? You have had weeks to mull that over, because I gave you notice.
SOTOMAYOR: Senator, I'm sorry. I did mull this over.
My problem is that, without looking at a particular issue and considering the cert briefs file, the discussion of potential colleagues as to the reasons why a particular issue should or should not be considered...
(CROSSTALK)
SPECTER: Well, I can tell you are not going to answer. Let me move on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, so that was, I guess, the nature of Arlen Specter.
But you wanted to make a point, Jeff.
TOOBIN: Well, even by the standards of the old Senate, he is pompous and grouchy. I mean, that is just -- they are not all like that. That is really -- usually -- he is an unusually crusty guy.
(CROSSTALK)
ECHAVESTE: Well, now he's our problem.
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: A lot of Republicans are wondering why we didn't give him to the Democrats earlier.
BORGER: Well, but the interesting...
(LAUGHTER)
BORGER: The interesting thing about Specter is that he has been through enough of these hearings. So, he knows full well that she is not going to answer these questions that he wants her to answer, because he knows that this is the routine. This is the Kabuki right now.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: She did give one -- I'm sorry. Go ahead.
BORGER: No. This is the Kabuki they go through right now. Even though he told her he was going to answer it, he knew full well what the answer was. But he wanted to chastise her for it. TOOBIN: She did give one somewhat more open answer than I expected on the issues of cameras in the courtroom, that, when she was on the Second Circuit, she had been open to cameras, took the opportunity. And she said she would tell her colleagues if she is confirmed that the sky didn't fall when cameras came in.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: And Arlen Specter has been a big advocate of cameras in the courtroom for many years. And so I think that was...
BLITZER: And he makes a fair point. The American public deserves to see what's going on inside the United States Supreme Court.
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: And, to a great degree, though, this is about Arlen Specter. He's up for reelection in a tough state, in a swing state that's gone more a little Democrat than Republican lately. He has just switched parties. He has now got a tough Democratic primary. And a lot of folks in that state are upset with him on both sides.
So, trying to demonstrate that he is still relevant to his state, relevant to the political process in Washington, that he has a significant role in this town...
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: ... helped himself today...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me let Maria Echaveste, our Democratic strategist, if you will, weigh in.
How much of a challenge do you think that Congressman Joe Sestak is really going to have for Arlen Specter, who is raising a lot of money?
ECHAVESTE: Well, the thing is that Specter has been good on labor issues, except for that moment on EFCA, the Employee Free Choice Act. We will see if he comes back to the fold on that.
He has been pro-choice, which has been a problem for Republicans. So, I think that it is going to be a test about just how blue Pennsylvania has become. I think he didn't do himself much favors in the way he showed himself as kind of a little cranky and not very nice.
CROWLEY: That is not going to come as news to the people who have elected him for three decades.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK) CASTELLANOS: But he now has to be embraced by a new audience. And that's a Democratic primary audience. So, being a little -- a little arrogant...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: But he is a man with a tremendous amount of experience, especially on the Judiciary Committee. He is very intelligent.
Dana Bash watched all of this unfold.
I don't know, Dana, if you have had a chance to speak with Senator Specter over the past few weeks. But he must be disappointed that, as someone who is a former chairman, a ranking member of this committee, he is ranking right down there with Al Franken right now as the most junior two members of this committee.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I actually spoke with one of his top aides about that very question this morning, Wolf. And what I was told is that he gets it. He understands what he had to do, and he admitted at the time for political reasons, to keep his seat, that this is one of the costs of it.
So, that's why he decided to stay here and he is sticking it out. And what he is telling his staff at least and probably would tell me if I had the chance to go find him in the hallway is that he has learned from his many, many years here it is not necessarily where you sit. It's that you get to ask the tough questions. And I think he displayed that today.
But other one point I think is worth making with regard to Arlen Specter, there is no question that he is, as many of you all have pointed out, more surly than some of his colleagues. But I also think he was -- I think he felt free to express some of the frustration that many of these senator do, Democrats and Republicans, because everybody does know it is a Kabuki dance.
But they also really wish they could get some answers this. They do feel -- I know this is probably going to surprise people out there, but they do feel a responsibility to at least get some information about where somebody as important as a Supreme Court nominee stands before they vote yes or no. And they're not getting a lot of answers here.
So, Arlen Specter is his own character, and he marches to the beat of his own drum. But I think a lot of senator were inside going, you know, I feel his pain. I think the same thing.
BLITZER: Yes. Well, we're going to get more questions coming up. Each of those 19 senators, 12 Democrats, seven Republicans, they are going to have a maximum of 20 minutes each, although the chairman is hoping a lot of them will use a lot less time, 20 minutes each maximum to go into the second round.
We don't know when that second round is going to begin, because, right now, they are meeting behind closed doors for the FBI background check, the vetting process, to make sure everything is working out well.
Of course, once the questioning does resume, we are going to have live coverage.
I want to just clear up one more point. We were talking about what Al Franken, the senator from Minnesota, was saying about Perry Mason being her favorite show, his favorite show. We are now getting information -- and I grew up watching Perry Mason as well -- there were not one, not two, but potentially three episodes where Perry Mason did not win, but the prosecutor, Burger, who always lost, won, "The Case of the Deadly Verdict, "The Case of the Terrified Typist," and the new one we're learning about right now, "The Case of the Witless Witness."
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: So, a lot of information. I think Al Franken is going to have to...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Video stores all across America, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Al Franken is going to have to check his research.
BORGER: This just in, right?
BLITZER: Yes, that's right.
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: ... FBI will be behind closed doors here soon.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: We want to get more on "The Case of the Witless Witness." That sounds intriguing.
CROWLEY: However, I also am told by a number of people here that appear to be both watching and have access to Google that "The Case of the Deadly Verdict" he lost, it wasn't Perry Mason's fault. But his client lied to him.
BLITZER: Oh.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Stuff happens like that.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: All right, clearly, Perry Mason influenced Sonia Sotomayor.
We are going to have a lot more coming up on the confirmation hearings. That's coming up in just a few moments.
But let's check in with Fredricka Whitfield. She's got some other important news that we're watching right now as well -- Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Wolf. I am Fredricka Whitfield, in for Rick Sanchez at the CNN world headquarters.
Oh, what a differences a few hours make. The things that we have learned just today about the Northwest Florida couple shot dead in their home. The case has changed dramatically.
Federal investigators are now on it, Drug Enforcement Agency investigators. Why? Well, why would federal drug experts take interest in what looks like a home invasion, a robbery and murder? And what about the big gaping hole in the case that police talked about today? All big questions and many others.
And we go to our Ed Lavandera for some of the answers. Ed is now in Pensacola.
Ed, why the DEA?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, you know, we have heard for several days that federal agencies have been involved in this. And each day as we've reported on it, the scope of it seems to grow in terms of numbers and also in terms of reach.
But there are clearly so many unanswered questions here. And all along, authorities have said that that robbery and that home invasion was one of several motives. So even though we are not able to really fill in the blanks on this, everything is coming together very slowly.
But what has transpired rather recently is this afternoon is that authorities had put out a request for people to be on the lookout for a woman named Pamela Long, who is believed to be the landlord of one of the suspects arrested and a real estate agent in this Pensacola area.
Authorities have just told us that they have scheduled a press conference which will start in 30 minutes. We asked the sheriff if this means they found this woman. Kind of with a smirk, said they told we would have to wait until that press conference to find out.
So kind of reading between the lines here, that might be what they talk to us about.
But one of the other things they have talked about, which is just kind of, again, adding to another level of intrigue to what is going on here, authorities say that not only are they looking for this Pamela Long woman, but there is still another person of interest that they want to talk to.
And it kind of opened up a window into this investigation. And this idea they believe, they are operating under this theory that it could have been another person involved whose job should have been to turn off the elaborate security system at the home of the Billings. And they're confused as to why that didn't happen.
They say these men trained for several weeks, rehearsed what they were going to do. And to look past that, something that should have been very obvious to them, has seemed that glaring hole in this investigation. And the sheriff here in Pensacola talked about that a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTRY, FLORIDA: We are also pondering at this time the huge gap in this operation.
As you well know, we have spoken from the very beginning about its execution. It was less than ten minutes on the Billings compound, four minutes in the house, and, again, exiting the entire property with the crime having been committed in less than 10 minutes.
The gaping hole in this in attempting to put the puzzle together in this investigation, and all of you should have asked this, we have asked ourselves this from the beginning -- why was the security system not disabled? We are of the opinion that that may be a piece of this puzzle that has yet to be solved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: So Fredricka, as we've mentioned, authorities here planning another press conference.
Things appear to be moving rather quickly. They had put out for people to be on the lookout for this many would, Pamela Long. They had put out her picture. And it appears that we might be getting some sort of movement on what is happening with her at this point.
So clearly, a lot more questions coming up about how that part of the investigation has progressed in the last few hours -- Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: So, Ed, what is the believed connection between Pamela Long and this crime?
LAVANDERA: We've asked that several times. And they won't get into specifics. They say they just believe her to be -- they kept going back to that phrase, "person of interest." They feel they want to talk to her, that She might be able to help them out in some way.
They do say, however, that they don't believe she was at the crime scene when these murders took place. They keep saying that they believe there were seven people at that crime scene when the Billings couple were murdered, and that those seven people are in custody.
But that doesn't mean their investigation has ended. What part of that investigation and what that means, trying to get all of that information on the record has been rather difficult so far.
WHITFIELD: OK. And you and the police there touched on the surveillance system. So what is the theory, because apparently investigators do have a theory about why the cameras were not disabled as part of the surveillance system?
LAVANDERA: What they alluded to is if these guys had taken so much time and had methodically planned out this -- they described it, there are two members of these groups who had military background. In fact, one of them is an active duty staff sergeant in the Air Force.
They said that they had for the last few weeks leading up to these murders, the authorities say that these men trained and rehearsed what they were going to do at the Billings compound.
So it seems that if they went through this much pain and effort, that they would have known there was this elaborate camera system on the property, that they would have done something about it, that they would have been aware that that would have been recording their every move.
They came into this property. In less than 10 minutes, they were in, out. They were inside the house, we are told, for about four minutes.
So that's kind of plagued them from the very beginning, that they believe it appears that someone should have been in charge of turning off or disabling that security system. It could have been done remotely, they say. But that didn't happen, and they want to know why.
WHITFIELD: Very confusing, complex, and mysterious. Thanks so much. Ed Lavandera is there. And of course, a press conference at 4:00, top of the hour, for the Escambia County Sheriff's Department. We'll return to that as well.
And when we come back, the man who usually occupies this seat from 3:00 to 4:00 Eastern every day will be joining me. He is on assignment in Miami.
He took his national conversation on the road today to speak to some wise Latina women like his mother, of course, about the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearing. Much more from Rick and company.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Rick Sanchez, you're wondering, where is he? Well, he decided to go back home to Miami to find some wise Latina women. There he is, Rick Sanchez.
And I know, in the forefront of the wise Latina women, su madre. In fat you even slept at her home last night, right?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the way it works. You have to come back sometime.
You know, it's funny. Now she spends most of her time, my mom, asking me not about me or anything else other than just my kids. I guess that's the role of a grandmother.
WHITFIELD: You have taken the back seat to the kids. SANCHEZ: Yes, yes, pretty much so.
You know, it's interesting that we would try and stretch our coverage, because we have heard a lot from pundits, and we have certainly heard a lot from legal analysts, and we've heard a lot of politicians and newscasters, and they all have something to say that's very much an important part of this story about Sonia Sotomayor and her candidacy, her nomination for the Supreme Court of the United States.
It's historic, but we haven't maybe spent as much time as we possibly could going around the country and getting a perspective from other people, from regular people who live other there, and especially the people who have now become part of this nomenclature, this wise Latina woman.
So I wanted to do was to come to south Florida and find four wise Latina women, women who have been former federal prosecutors, women who have gone to Ivy League schools, who fought the fight and made it and are extremely successful.
And I think I found them. And I am going to sit down and tell you what they have to say about what it is like, their perspective. It is really unique, all right, Fredericka? You probably know a little bit about this.
For example, what it's like to be a female federal prosecutor, and with all that that brings, and still you walk into a courtroom, as they tell me, and guess what, a lot of people say, oh, you must be the court reporter, or are you the attorney's wife?
That's the reality of the legal system, which they tell me is still very male-dominated. And that's an important point.
But before we even get started with them, I decided to talk to the wisest of the Latina women, as you mentioned, my mama. Usually, Mom and I don't talk politics. Dad and I talk politics, my brothers and I talk politics, but usually, Mom and I don't talk politics. We talk about the kids and other stuff.
Well, I asked her about Sonia Sotomayor, and I found out that my mother, like many Hispanic-Americans, has a lot to say about this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So you like Sotomayor?
ADELA FERNANDEZ, RICK'S MOTHER: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Are you proud?
FERNANDEZ: Yes.
SANCHEZ: You are proud.
Proud because someone like you is in this position.
FERNANDEZ: (Speaking in Spanish)
SANCHEZ: Because -- oh, you are proud because she came from nowhere like you?
And you are proud and you like the fact that she did it on her own, nobody gave it to her.
FERNANDEZ: (Speaking in Spanish)
SANCHEZ: She did it on her own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Here is what is interesting about this as we look at it, that there are different perspectives on this story around the country.
Look, some people who may live in South Dakota or North Dakota or Kansas or Minnesota, where I went to school, Golden Gophers, ra, ra, ra, may have a different perspective than people that live in cities like Miami that are already enculturated (ph) by Hispanics to a large degree, or New York or Chicago or Los Angeles or Phoenix or so many of these other places.
So it is important to note that the words she used, while they have upset a lot of people, taking it in or out of context, these four distinguished former prosecutors, defense attorneys, entrepreneurs, say they got her and they knew what she was saying.
They go on to say, or seem to imply that because of who she is and how hard the row has been to hoe for her, that maybe she needs to be given a little room on this.
In fact, take a listen to what they have to say about being a female in a male-dominated legal world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELVIRA SALAZAR, HOST, "MARIA ELVIRA LIVE": Latina women for many people that are watching you are maids. That's why I don't like the name Maria, because every single maid is Mexican and is called Maria.
That's why I like Elvira, because that way I get distinguished. I get respected. Maria means being a maid, so Sonia is trying to say, I am not a maid. I studied, I went to law school.
SANCHEZ: So does anybody else feel that way? Do you fight those stereotypes?
SYLVIA TINERA-VASQUEZ, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY: I disagree with the sense that a name attaches to a -- I understand where you are coming from -- to maybe a maid.
Are there stereotypes? Absolutely. We are all living in a man's world. As far as lawyers are concerned, maybe we are 2 percent of the population at the stage we're at. I go to meetings, and it's me and maybe another woman. Everybody else is a man.
And we have to battle whatever inequities in whatever in perceptions men and other Anglo women have of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: In the end, though, we are still left with a couple of issues here, having not so much to do with her record, Sonia Sotomayor's record, but comments that she has made and a specific ruling that she made, the Ricci decision, about New Haven Connecticut firefighters, which is certainly an issue that a lot of people -- has given a lot of people pause all over the country.
And then, of course, her comments about a wise Latina women perhaps being better.
I asked these ladies about that. In fact, I was very stern with them. I grilled them. I said, wait a minute. She made some declarations and said some things that maybe will upset some people.
And they say, no. They are convinced that this thing to a certain degree was taken out of context, and all she was trying to do was actually inspire these women when she made the comment.
WHITFIELD: And so on that comment though about life experiences, because that's what we were talking about, as she was talking about her life experiences certainly give her a certain advantage over some people when it comes down to making certain decisions.
But these women that you spoke with, including your mom, did they agree with that or did they take issue with that?
SANCHEZ: No. As a matter of fact, the point they make isn't only that Sonia Sotomayor is qualified to be the next Supreme Court justice. They tell me she is necessary.
She says, the idea that the United States of America would have a Supreme Court when the Hispanic population of the United States is getting to the point where it's growing by leaps and bounds and is about to become something like a third, and there is not represented on the Supreme Court, tells you that someone with that perspective, as long as they are qualified when you look at their record, actually needs to be there to fill that gap that nobody else has been filling.
That's their conviction for, include my mom, five wise Latina women.
WHITFIELD: I am so glad you included your mother.
(LAUGHTER)
Well, people, of course, are very intrigued to hear more from these women, including your mother, and they can by going to your blog and hearing more from these women, CNN.com/ricksanchez. SANCHEZ: All right, thanks a lot, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Adios, Rick. See you back here -- are you back tomorrow?
SANCHEZ: I think I am. I think I am.
WHITFIELD: I know. It is hard to leave home. I totally understand.
SANCHEZ: This used to be your home.
WHITFIELD: I know. I love Miami.
Thanks so much, Rick. Good talking to you.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Another fiery issue, literally. Look at the flames and the smoke bursting out of this high-rise building. Here is a question, why doesn't it have sprinklers?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama made history as America's first African-American president. Now many wonder if Alabama will make history and elect that state's first African-American governor.
CNN's Jason Carroll has more in our "Black in America" series.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To supporters, he is the symbol of a new Alabama, a figure showing the state moving past its segregationist history.
He's congressman Artur Davis, primed to make history, too, by becoming the state's first African-American governor.
CARROLL (on camera): So you really think you can win?
REP. ARTUR DAVIS, (D) ALABAMA: No question I think we can win. We wouldn't be running if I didn't think we could win.
CARROLL (voice-over): Our interview taking place at a church where four little girls were killed in a bombing during the civil rights movement. Davis says he knows and believes in the people here today.
DAVIS: I'm someone who was raised by my mother and grandmother, grew up in a relatively small town, Montgomery, Alabama.
CARROLL: Davis made his way through Harvard Law School. Politics brought him home. DAVIS: I decided to come back. I wanted to contribute something to the state.
CARROLL: He lost first bid to Congress in 2007, but won a rematch two years later and has served four terms.
But is Alabama ready for a Democratic African-American governor?
PEGGY WALLACE, DAUGHTER OF FORMER GOVERNOR GEORGE WALLACE: Alabama needs Artur. They just don't know it.
CARROLL: Peggy Wallace has a unique perspective. Her father, former Alabama Governor George Wallace, noted for saying --
GEORGE WALLACE: I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.
CARROLL: Wallace later renounced his segregationist views. Changing times -- his daughter supported then Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 election and supports Davis now.
PEGGY WALLACE: We have many friends that did not and couldn't understand why we voted for Obama, and I'm sure will not vote for Artur. Some people are just -- are just not ready.
CARROLL: To which Davis says...
DAVIS: I think more of them know they're ready than some people think.
CARROLL: Political analysts like Natalie Davis say, when talking politics and color, remember, Alabama is a red state. President Obama lost the state by a wide margin, capturing about 10 percent of the white vote.
NATALIE DAVIS, BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN COLLEGE: In Alabama, if you're a Democrat running against a Republican, white or black, you have to take 38 percent of the white vote.
CARROLL: She says it's a tall order, but Davis remains confident.
DAVIS: Breakthrough moments often aren't foreseeable, even just a short time before they happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Scary moments at a high rise apartment complex in Dallas. A fire sends smoke soaring from the 11 story Indigo apartment building. Residents were told to evacuate.
WFAA reports the fire was confined to the roof. The building does not have a fire sprinkler system. Those were not required when the complex was actually built back in 1963. Maybe the sixth time will be the charm for the space shuttle Endeavour to lift off. We'll see the forecast next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Fredricka Whitfield in for Rick Sanchez here.
You're looking at live pictures out of Escambia County, Florida, because momentarily a press conference will take place involving the murders of a Florida couple while they were home was filled with children. We'll take that live conference as soon as it happens.
(WEATHER REPORT)
