Sotomayor: good judges come from all races, backgrounds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told her confirmation hearing on Tuesday that she "unequivocally" believed that good judges could come from any racial, ethnic or gender group.

Sotomayor's nomination has been clouded by a 2001 speech she gave in which she said a "wise Latina' might arrive at a better legal decision than a white man.

Offered the chance to explain the comments by the Senate Judiciary Committee's Democratic chairman Patrick Leahy, Sotomayor said she had been misconstrued.

"I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judgment," Sotomayor said, adding that she believed every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise "regardless of their background and life experience.".