SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL): “Isn't that true that you were more active than you may have suggested to Senator Graham yesterday?”  JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR: “…That memo has to be examined in context. The memo was a moment in our 12-year history where the board was planning a retreat. To think about what directions, if any, we should consider moving into or not. We were not reviewing the individual cases to see if the individual cases, what positions were taken, the type of strategies –“ (Hearing Of The Senate Judiciary Committee, Nomination Of Sonia Sotomayor, 7/15/09)

PRLDEF Litigation Committee Minutes Confirm That Board Members Including Judge Sotomayor Were Routinely Briefed On Litigation Status:

March 25, 1981 Litigation Committee Meeting Minutes (Judge Sotomayor attended):  “The Committee was provided copies of the Fund’s Docket of Cases . . .” 

•    The minutes also state: “There was a discussion regarding possible new issues that could be addressed by the Fund.” 

•    The minutes also state: “The Board also unanimously resolved to request the Staff to examine what legal avenues might be available to challenge the cuts in federal entitlements.”

In Fact, According to PRLDEF’s Organization and Mission Report, When Judge Sotomayor Was Chairperson Of The Litigation Committee in 1987, She Was Responsible For Reviewing the Current Litigation:

November 11, 1985 Draft Report of the Organization and Mission Committee.  Responsibilities of the Litigation Committee included:  “(1) Review[ing] docket of current litigation; (2) Explor[ing] areas of potential litigation and set[ting] priorities for the Fund for the year.” 

When Sotomayor Was Chairperson Of The Litigation Committee, She Briefed The Board On Current Litigation:

October 8, 1987 Minutes: “Chairperson Sotomayor summarized the activities of the Committee over the last several months which included the review of the litigation efforts of the past and present…” 

On January 14, 1988, “Committee Chairperson Sonia Sotomayor reviewed the scope of the Committee’s work and indicated a fuller report would be presented at the upcoming Board meeting.”

Sotomayor Chaired PRLDEF’s Litigation Committee And Was A “Top Policy Maker”

THE NEW YORK TIMES: PRLDEF Lawyers: Sotomayor Was An “Involved And Ardent Supporter Of Their Various Legal Efforts During Her Time With The Group.” “The board monitored all litigation undertaken by the fund’s lawyers, and a number of those lawyers said Ms. Sotomayor was an involved and ardent supporter of their various legal efforts during her time with the group.” (“Nominee’s Links With Advocates Fuel Her Critics,” The New York Times, 5/28/09)

WALL STREET JOURNAL: “Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor Helped Lead An Advocacy Group That Pushed Legal Theories About Employment And Race Much Like The One Scotched By The Supreme Court Monday, according to documents released Wednesday as part of her confirmation process.” (“Sotomayor Helped Push Minority Cases,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/2/09)

ASSOCIATED PRESS: “Judge Sotomayor And Other Board Members Were Involved In Making Sure The Cases PRLDEF Handled Were In Keeping With Its Mission Statement And Were Having An Impact, According To A Memo She Wrote In June 1987.” “The materials give little insight into Judge Sotomayor's role in the organization's activities, even while she chaired the board's litigation committee. They do suggest, however, that Judge Sotomayor and other board members were involved in making sure the cases PRLDEF handled were in keeping with its mission statement and were having an impact, according to a memo she wrote in June 1987.”  (“Group Sotomayor Belonged To Sued Over Job Tests,” The Associated Press, 7/3/09)

THE NEW YORK TIMES: “For 12 Years She Was A Top Policy Maker On The Board Of The Puerto Rican Legal Defense And Education Fund.” (“A Breakthrough Judge: What She Always Wanted,” The New York Times, 9/25/92)

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Judge Sotomayor Was A Board Member Of PRLDEF From 1980 To 1992 And “Headed The Board’s Litigation Committee.” “A Puerto Rican civil rights leader said Tuesday he was ready to start sending a trove of documents from supreme court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's past to the senate panel considering her nomination. Cesar Perales, the head of the legal advocacy group LatinoJustice PRLDEF said he'd send the Judiciary Committee minutes of meetings Sotomayor participated in as a board member of the group from 1980 until 1992, as well as pleadings from cases it handled while Sotomayor headed the board's litigation committee. Republicans and conservative interest groups have criticized Sotomayor's involvement with the organization — formerly known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund — and called it radical. Among the causes it took up while Sotomayor served on the board were bilingual education, support for abortion rights and opposition to the death penalty, which it equated with racism.” (“Legal Group Sending Sotomayor Documents To Senate,” The Associated Press, 7/1/09)

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Sonia Sotomayor “Played An Active Role” On PRLDEF. “And so across her 12 years on the board — she left when she was appointed a federal judge in 1992 — she played an active role as the defense fund staked out aggressive stances on issues like police brutality, the death penalty and voting rights.” (“Nominee’s Links With Advocates Fuel Her Critics,” The New York Times, 5/28/09)
 

Sotomayor Held Various High Level Positions With PRLDEF:

•    Member of the Board of Directors: 1980-1992

•    Education and Professional Development Committee: 1980

•    Nominations Committee: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1990

•    Litigation Committee: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1991

•    Chairperson of the Litigation Committee: 1983, 1984, 1987, and 1988

•    Executive Committee: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988

•    Treasurer: 1982

•    Special Vice Chair of the Board: 1984, 1985

•    Second Vice Chair of the Board: 1986

•    First Vice Chair of the Board: 1987, 1988

•    Finance Committee: 1986, 1987, 1988

•    Personnel Committee: 1988

(Sonia Sotomayor, Letter To Sen. Jeff Sessions, 7/2/09), (United States Senate Committee On The Judiciary, Questionnaire)