Supreme Court Journalists Hold Mixed Opinions On Sotomayor

By Aaron Richardson-Talk Radio News Service

Following the confirmation hearings of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, opinion on what kind of justice Sotomayor will be continues to seem mixed.

NPR Senior Correspondent Juan Williams believes that Sotomayor will pursue a squarely moderate course.

“Judge, and potentially Justice, Sotomayor will try to adhere to as much as she can to stay within the mainstream and hold to this notion that she does believe in precedent,” Williams said Friday during a panel discussion with a number of journalists who specialize in Supreme Court proceedings.

However, Washington Times columnist Quin Hillyer fears that Sotomayor will buck the responsibilities of the bench and adopt an activist role.

“I think her record shouts out advocate and does not even whisper judge. I fear that her speeches really indicate a crusading mentality,” Hillyer said.

According to veteran Supreme Court journalist Lyle Denniston, Sotomayor may have a hard time replacing departing Associate Justice David Souter.

“I do not think she is as smart as Justice Souter was and to my mind I have covered a lot of smart people on the court but no one since [Former Associate Justice appointed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt] Felix Frankfurter has the intelligence that David Souter had,” Denniston said.