Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor meets with Congressional Officials

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Judge Sonia Sotomayor met with a number of congressional officials on Tuesday including Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who said that Sotomayor promised to apply the law "ultimately and completely" regardless of circumstance.

Many of Sotomayor's critics have targeted her 2001 speech in which she was quoted as saying "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."

Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said Sotomayor told him that "of course one's life experiences shape who you are, but ... ultimately and completely a judge has to follow the law no matter what his (or her) upbringing has been."

Leahy cited Sotomayor's experience as a strong selling point for him, saying that she has "great legal mind" similar to that of retiring Justice David Souter, and lashed out against her critics whose attacks Leahy described as vicious

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was the first official to meet with Sotomayor, and said that he was very impressed with her academic background as well as her compelling life story.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, assured that the 53 year old Sotomayor would recieve "fair hearing."

"I'd like people to say this is the best hearing we've ever had," he said

Her afternoon schedule includes meetings with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois; Dianne Feinstein, D-California; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; and Jon Kyl, R-Arizona.

President Barack Obama has called for his nominee to be confirmed before the start of the next Supreme Court term in October.

Many recent nominees up for congressional approval, such as John Roberts and Samuel Alito found the process to be simple and a mere formality, though some others such as Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers was extiguished due to what officials viewed as lack of experience.

Most of Sotomayor's critics concede that she is qualified, though they are still expected to use their meetings to ask a number of pointed questions.

One issue which is anticipated to get alot of attention is focused on Sotomayor's court decision against a group of New Haven, Connecticut firefighters. The firefighters were denied promotions resulting from a test because it, according to critics, discriminated against minority firefighters

"She's going to have to convince me that if I found myself in court against someone she had a lot of empathy for, that I'd get a fair shake," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. "If she can't, I won't vote for her."

Republicans, however, have their own political worries.

CNN political analyst David Gergen said they risk putting themselves on trial in front of Latino-Americans.

"If they line up uniformly in hostility against the first Hispanic woman to the court, they risk paying a terrible price with the biggest and fastest-growing minority in this country," Gergen said.

Despite what seems at the moment like a nomination on a fast track, Republicans are still demanding ample time to read Sotomayor's thousands of rulings before public hearings begin