Confirming Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Judge Sonia Sotomayor appears to be an "inspired choice," said The New York Times in an editorial. Sotomayor—President Obama's pick to be the next Supreme Court justice—"is more than just a member of two underrepresented groups," Hispanics and women. "She is an accomplished lawyer and judge, who could become an extraordinary Supreme Court justice," and so should be confirmed.

Sotomayor, who was raised in a Bronx, N.Y., housing project, may be the "ideal match" for Obama, said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial, because he thinks "judging should be shaped by 'empathy' as much or more than by reason." But that's not how the judicial system is supposed to be run. With Democrats controlling the Senate, Sotomayor is likely to be confirmed, but Republicans can use the process to "educate Americans" about the importance of judging on constitutional principles instead of "personal experience" and "cultural identity."

Conservatives will oppose the nomination, said David Greenberg in the Los Angeles Times, by insisting that Judge Sonia Sotomayor "intends to toss aside the law for her gut sympathies. But her record—at least as it's been reported so far—doesn't easily lend itself to such interpretation." Still, "fierce" fights over Supreme Court nominees have "become the norm" over the past few decades, and "the feeding frenzy is just beginning."

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