Sonia Sotomayor has stated her case for a place on the US Supreme¹ Court to the Senate, saying her judicial² philosophy is "fidelity³ to the law".

Sonia Sotomayor已经将她在最高法院里对案情的处理意见报告了参议员，称她的判决哲学是“对法律的忠诚”。

The nominee⁴ said during her 17 years as a federal judge she had sought to serve the interests of "impartial⁵ justice".

Ms Sotomayor - nominated by President Barack Obama - will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is, as expected, confirmed in the post.

Some Republican senators want her to explain past rulings and comments.

These include her remark that a "wise Latina" could reach better legal conclusions than a white man.

'Extraordinary woman'

Ms Sotomayor, 55, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that her personal story - of growing up in a poor New York neighbourhood to Puerto Rican parents, going to law school and rising to become an appeals court judge - was "uniquely American".

She paid tribute to her mother - sat behind her in the hearing - who she said had instilled⁶（逐渐灌输） in her the values of working hard and getting a good education.

And she spoke⁷ of her experiences - big city prosecutor⁸, corporate⁹ litigator（诉讼）, trial and appelate judge.

Seeking to counter criticism from Republicans that her personal or political views would influence her decisions, Judge Sotomayor said her judicial philosophy is simple: "Fidelity to the law".

"The task of a judge is not to make law - it is to apply the law," she said.

Senators are expected to begin questioning her on Tuesday in an attempt to find out more about her legal thinking. Both sides will also call witnesses.

In particular, they are likely to ask about one case in which she ruled that white firefighters in Connecticut had not been unfairly denied promotions¹⁰.

The Supreme Court last month overturned that decision, ruling by five votes to four that the firefighters had been unfairly discriminated¹¹ against.

Confirmation¹² hearings for a new Supreme Court justice provide one of Washington's most imposing¹³ pieces of political theatre, correspondents say.

The hearings began with opening comments by the 12 Democratic and seven Republican senators.

Sen Patrick Leahy who chairs the committee and is a supporter of Ms Sotomayor, described her as "committed to the law" and "not to ideology（观念学，空论）".

"She has been a judge for all Americans. She will be a justice for all Americans," he said.

"Let no-one demean（贬抑，降低） this extraordinary woman."

Sen Lindsey Graham told Judge Sotomayor: "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed."

He quickly added: "And I don't think you will [have a meltdown]."

Balance unaltered

Some of Ms Sotomayor's remarks have provoked（激怒，惹起） controversy¹⁴（争议，争论）, in particular in 2001 when she said: "I would hope 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."

Such comments, her critics say, suggest her decisions would stem from bias¹⁵（偏见）, empathy（移情作用，神入） and emotion rather than strict interpretation¹⁶ of the law.

Sen Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the judiciary committee, said: "I will not vote for, and no senator should vote for, an individual nominated by any president who is not fully¹⁷ committed to fairness and impartiality¹⁸."

Fellow Republican Charles Grassley, senator for Iowa, said Mr Obama had nominated Judge Sotomayor for the wrong reasons.

"President Obama's empathy standard appears to encourage judges to make use of their personal politics, feelings and preferences.

"This is contrary to what most of us understand to be the role of the judiciary（司法部，司法制度）."

Ms Sotomayor is expected to win confirmation to the nine-member Supreme Court that rules on key political and social issues, and is the final arbiter¹⁹（仲裁人，裁决者） of the US constitution.

But as she would replace Justice David Souter, another liberal justice, the balance of the conservative-leaning court would not be significantly altered.

She would, however, be not only the first Hispanic justice but only the third woman in the history of the court.

The hearing was briefly²⁰ disrupted by shouts from two anti-abortion protesters, who were removed from the room.

Other anti-abortion protesters rallied outside the building.