Jill Filipovic's blog

Surrounded by senators dripping with condescension, Judge Sotomayor responded with respect, nuance and a solid grounding in the law - to the point where the hearings sometimes felt like a high school civics class.

The justices who evaluated Ricci are not "raceless," yet no one suggests their whiteness influences their views on racial inequality. Sotomayor, though, is branded a "racist" because she voted to uphold a lower court decision based on well-established legal theory.

Sotomayor's trail of opinions paints a picture of a fair-minded, incisive legal scholar who is unafraid to stake out unpopular but legally meritorious positions. Right-wingers are going to oppose her nomination with full force - we would be foolish to do it for them.

A truly progressive legal culture - lines of legal interpretation which affirm free speech, privacy, civil liberties and protections of minority groups and views - requires building from the ground up, not just from the Supreme Court on down.

Interviewed on Meet the Press, Joe Biden was clear about his support for policies that ensure abortion access for women in this country. But why are we asking presidential candidates when life begins?

When discussing late-term abortion, Barack Obama used talking points we would expect to hear from John McCain: abstinence, adoption, and sacredness of sex.