WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today delivered a Senate floor speech announcing why he will vote against the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

"After meeting with Judge Sotomayor, reviewing her past judicial decisions, and learning more of her philosophy, I have decided that I will vote against her nomination to the Supreme Court," said Brownback. "Judge Sotomayor has indicated through past rulings and in her writings that she believes the judiciary should take an activist role and make laws, instead of upholding the law. As Chief Justice Roberts said, a justice should be an impartial umpire, not a player in the game. I am afraid Judge Sotomayor wants to be more of a player than an umpire."

Brownback earlier this month met with Sotomayor, who currently serves as a judge on the 2nd Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Brownback voted against her nomination to that position in 1998. The Senate will begin the Sotomayor nomination hearings on July 13.

Brownback continued, "In her writings, Judge Sotomayor has rejected the principle of impartiality and embraces the novel idea that a judge's personal life story should come into play in the courtroom. I'm not sure why Judge Sotomayor believes the law is somehow different when interpreted by people of different backgrounds. I think Judge Sotomayor is absolutely wrong, and that we do a disservice to law and society when we don't transcend our personal sympathies and prejudices. Judge Sotomayor's view is contrary to the words engraved above the Supreme Court's entrance: equal justice under law. "Any nominee to the federal bench, and especially to the Supreme Court, must have a proper understanding and respect for the role of the Court. The Court must faithfully hold to the text of the Constitution, and the intent of the Founders, not try to rewrite it based on ever-changing cultural views. In my view, democracy is wounded when Justices on the high Court, who are unelected, invent constitutional rights and alter the balance of governmental powers in ways that find no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution. Unfortunately, in recent years the courts have assumed a more aggressive political role. In many cases, the courts have allowed the political left in this country to achieve through court mandates what it cannot persuade the people to enact through the legislative process."