Senate Democrats today touted Sonia Sotomayor's record of backing law enforcement and her top rating from the American Bar Association while Republicans pressed claims that her personal views have influenced her decisions.

"Judge Sotomayor's criminal justice record proves that she is a moderate judge, whose decisions in criminal cases rarely differ from those of her colleagues on the federal bench," Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said at a news conference with the heads of nine law enforcement groups that have urged Sotomayor's confirmation.

Leahy released a review by his committee's majority staff of 800 criminal cases handled by Sotomayor, saying it shows she "is unquestionably a consensus judge on criminal justice issues." The study says she agreed with Republican-appointed judges 97 percent of the time and affirmed criminal convictions in 92 percent of cases.

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