Sonia Sotomayor should not disqualify her from serving on the Supreme Court. The American Bar Association gave her a unanimous "well qualified" assessment, its highest mark for professional qualification. Following the "Ricci" overruling, Rasmussen Reports and CNN/Opinion Research polls showed that the public was now sharply divided, largely along partisan and ideological lines, as to whether Sotomayor should be confirmed. Sotomayor's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began on July 13, 2009, during which she backed away from her "wise Latina" remark, declaring it "a rhetorical flourish that fell flat" and stating that "I do not believe that any ethnic, racial
Hispanic and Latino Americans Latinos from the Southwest, especially those along the Mexican border, had the highest mean levels of Native American ancestry. The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" refer to an ethnicity; people of this group may be of any race. Hispanic people may share some commonalities in their language, culture, history, and heritage. According to the Smithsonian Institution, the term "Latino" includes peoples with Portuguese roots, such as Brazilians, as well as those of Spanish-language origin. In the United States, many Hispanics and Latinos are of both European and Native American ancestry (mestizo). Others are wholly or predominantly of European ancestry or of