Answering probing questions by ranking member Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Sonia Sotomayor said her "wise Latina woman" remark was "bad."

She explained that she was trying to "play" on the words of retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, referencing an axiom that "a wise old woman and a wise old man" would reach the same conclusions in a given case.

"I was trying to play on her words. My play fell flat," Sotomayor said. "It was bad. It left an impression that I believed that life experiences commanded a result in a case. But that's clearly not what I do as a judge. It's not what I intended."