Sure Sotomayor Is Tough—as She Should Be

Web porn trafficker claims mutilation of woman was consensual

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a case involving a sex trafficker, nicknamed the "S&M Svengali," who whipped and mutilated a "sex slave" and then posted photos of it on his for-profit website. Glenn Marcus claims that the acts were consensual, but the woman testified she felt like a prisoner and was manipulated into the situation. Marcus was sentenced to 9 years, but his conviction was overturned on appeal because of errors by the lower court. More»

Senator unable to support a 'judicial activist'

(AP) - John McCain says he'll oppose Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor when the Senate votes on her confirmation this week. Despite Sotomayor's efforts to distance herself from her record, the Arizona Republican said today, Sotomayor is a judicial activist who has used her position as a judge to try to change the law. More»

(NEWSER) - After listening to senators air their issues for most of the day, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor finally got the microphone at the end of her confirmation hearing today, telling senators she would serve the “larger interest of impartial justice," the AP reports. Sotomayor also took an apparent swipe at GOP critics who had questioned her impartiality. “My personal and professional experiences help me listen and understand,” she said, “with the law always commanding the result in every case.” More»

Firefighter decision shows judicial 'modesty'

(NEWSER) - Democrats are struggling to paint the Supreme Court’s rejection today of an opinion by nominee Sonia Sotomayor as proof that she is, in fact, not an “activist judge,” Roll Call reports. The high court decided to reverse Sotomayor’s 2nd Circuit ruling against white New Haven firefighters who alleged reverse discrimination. Sen. Chuck Schumer says the earlier ruling was based on precedent and therefore the mark of a moderate. More»

Dissents shows her boldly liberal on civil liberties, economy

(NEWSER) - Sonia Sotomayor will certainly sway the Supreme Court to the left, writes Jeffrey Rosen in the New Republic, offering an analysis of her decisions that obviously attempts to make up for his earlier, widely excoriated takedown before Sotomayor got the nod from President Obama—and before he had a studied her opinions carefully. The 21 dissents he has since analyzed reveal a Sotomayor who would add "a strong voice for civil liberties, and economic and social justice—sometimes in the majority, sometimes in dissent." More»