Sotomayor has had "positive experiences" with cameras in court

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told senators at her confirmation hearing Tuesday that she has had "positive experiences" with cameras in the courtroom and would add a "new voice" to the court’s ongoing internal discussion about opening up its proceedings.

If confirmed, Sotomayor would replace Justice David Souter, who was one of the staunchest opponents of allowing cameras into the Supreme Court.

The subject came up during Sen. Herb Kohl’s (D-Wisc.) questioning of Sotomayor on the second day of her confirmation hearings. Sotomayor sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York (2nd Cir.), which allows cameras in appeals of civil cases if no panel member objects.

"I have had positive experiences with cameras," Sotomayor said, according to a transcript published by the Los Angeles Times. "When I have been asked to join experiments of using cameras in the courtroom, I have participated. I have volunteered."

Sotomayor went on say that she would listen to other justices’ concerns, but she described herself as potentially being a "new voice in the discussion."