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How Will the New Kid Affect Court?

Spunky Sotomayor begins new term on staid Supreme Court

By the Associated Press

Posted Oct 4, 2009 9:56 AM CDT

(AP) – David Souter never danced the salsa in public. John Paul Stevens doesn't sing in karaoke bars. And John Roberts hasn't thrown out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. But Sonia Sotomayor is all that and a bag of chips, and while the Supreme Court is all about the law, personalities matter. As the court begins its new term tomorrow, the justices will be dealing with a wild card: how Sotomayor and her effervescence may change things.

"It's like when you were little and a new kid joined the class," says a law professor. "There was always a little air of excitement because you didn't know how it would change the dynamic." Expected to side with the court's liberal bloc, Sotomayor is unlikely to affect the outcome in two high-profile cases: a challenge to limits on corporate campaign donations and a lawsuit seeking to nix Chicago's handgun ban. But Sotomayor will be watched closely to see whether her past as a prosecutor makes her more sympathetic to law enforcement in criminal cases.

[Images (11)]

[Quotes (1)]

Seated, from left: Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. Standing, from left: Samuel Alito, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. (Charles Dharapak)

In this Sept. 29, 2009 file photo, the newest Supreme Court member, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, poses with her colleagues at the Supreme Court in Washington. (Charles Dharapak)

Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who was replaced by Sonia Sotomayor, wasn't exactly known for singing in karaoke bars. (Jim Cole)

With the addition of the Supreme Court's newest member, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, center, the high court sits for a group photograph, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is escorted out on the field by New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada to throw out the first pitch before the New York Yankees play the Boston Red Sox on Saturday,... (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the New York Yankees play the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

One never knows, but Antonin Scalia probably isn't too likely to be seen hobnobbing with Marc Antony and J.Lo. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

And here she is with Ricky Martin, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/RM Entertainment Group)

Justice Sonia Sotomayor's official portrait. (AP Photo/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, Steve Petteway)

What impact might spunky Sonia Sotomayor have on John Roberts' Supreme Court? (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Supreme Court's newest member Sonia Sotomayor, reacts to well wishers outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, following her investiture ceremony. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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It's a new court. When I was trying jury cases, if a juror had to be replaced because one was ill or something ... it's just a different dynamic. It was a different jury. And it's the same way here. This will be a very different court.
- Justice Anthony Kennedy

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How Will the New Kid Affect Court?