THE VERDICT IN SHENNANDOAH. A jury in Pennsylvania cleared two defendants on murder charges in the beating death of immigrant Luis Ramírez. Advocates are expressing dismay and call on the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue this case as a hate crime. They also urge the U.S. Senate to pass federal hate crimes legislation that addresses the rise in bias-motivated crimes and violence against Latino communities.

Guests: Gladys Limón, Staff Attorney, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), Los Angeles, CA. www.maldef.org; Elena Gaona, Spokesperson, Nacional Council of La Raza (NCLR). www.nclr.org; www.wecanstopthehate.org.

ALSO, SEN. CEDILLO ON IMMIGRANTS. California State Sen. Gil Cedillo joins this segment to talk about the DREAM Act, an initiative to allow young immigrant students to compete for financial aid while attending state colleges. Cedillo is also spearheading again a bill to grant driver’s licenses to unauthorized immigrants.

SONIA SOTOMAYOR. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. While leading Republican senators are casting doubts about judge Sotomayor’s record, calling her an extremist, Latino groups are increasingly engaging in the nomination process, enthusiastically closing ranks behind the nominee. This program includes excerpts from the confirmation hearings and analysis from commentators.

Guests:

Gladys Limón, Staff Attorney,Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Los Angeles, CA, www.maldef.org

Maria Blanco, Professor, Executive Director,
Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity & Diversity, UC Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA, www.law.berkeley.edu/ewi.htm

Liz Lopez, External Relations Vice-president, Hispanic National Bar Association, Washington, D.C., www.hnba.com