Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination let her try the burglar on a number of crimes in one case. Leahy also gave Sotomayor the opportunity to explain her ruling in the "Ricci" case, which the Supreme Court overturned after a ruling by a panel of which she was a member. Sotomayor stated that the ruling was based on precedent, and that it would have come out differently in light of the standard subsequently established by the Supreme Court on appeal. Ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (R-AL) then began questioning, and notably referenced her "" remark. Sotomayor stated that it was "meant to inspire" young people of Latino
Sonia Sotomayor the opening questions of the arguments to Donald Verrilli, the Solicitor General who was representing the government's position. In succeeding Justice Souter, Sotomayor had done little to change the philosophical and ideological balance of the Court. While many cases are decided unanimously or with different voting coalitions, Sotomayor has continued to be a reliable member of the liberal bloc of the court when the justices divide along the commonly perceived ideological lines. Specifically, her voting pattern and judicial philosophy has been in close agreement with that of Justices Breyer, Ginsburg and Kagan. During her first couple of years there, Sotomayor