Law Clerks Endorse Sotomayor

President Obama has said his Supreme Court pick, Sonia Sotomayor, has earned the "respect of colleagues on the bench, the admiration of many lawyers who argue cases in her court and the adoration of her clerks, who look to her as a mentor."

On Monday, some of those adoring clerks are making their official argument for Sotomayor — with 45 who previously worked with her signing a joint letter of endorsement and sending it directly to the lawmakers in charge of her approval.

"As former law clerks to the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, we write this letter to offer our enthusiastic and wholehearted support for President Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States," begins the letter, addressed to the Senate leaders of both parties and the two men at the top of the Judiciary committee.

Stressing a point that Mr. Obama himself also highlighted, the signatories tell Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and the committee's ranking Republican Jeff Sessions, that Sotomayor, "would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Supreme Court Justice in a century."

The letter chose not to directly address allegations of racism made by some conservative observers, citing a remark made by the nominee eight years ago in which she touted her life experience as a Latina as better qualifying her as a judicatory than others.

Instead, just as some lawmakers have sought to do, the clerks alluded to her "life story".

"Judge Sotomayor's compelling life story has by now been widely reported. For those of us who know her well, she is truly an inspiration, and we know that she will serve as a superb role model for countless young people. While never forgetting her beginnings, Judge Sotomayor has achieved so much in the best American tradition – through extraordinary talent and tireless hard work."

All of the clerks that served with Judge Sotomayor, except for four (two who couldn't be tracked down in time and two who had conflicts that prevented them from signing), signed the letter.