Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) (L) leans in to speak with US Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor (R) in his office in the US Capitol in Washington June 2, 2009. As the first Hispanic nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has been praised as a trailblazer in her field but race-based hiring practices will likely loom large at her confirmation hearings. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES POLITICS)