All Quiet on the Confirmation Front:  At SCOTUSblog, Tom Goldstein explains why he believes that Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Sotomayor will be a "non-event."  First, Goldstein reasons that with 60 Democrats in the Senate, "absent a bombshell," Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed.  But aside from that, Goldstein believes that there are political disadvantages to drawing attention to Judge Sotomayor's hearings.  He writes that the public "seemingly likes her and thinks she should be confirmed."  This could be because, according to Goldstein, she is well-qualified, has a compelling life story, and is the first Latina nominee to the Court.  While Goldstein does not predict any public attacks during the hearings, he does believe that the hearings could be a venue the Obama Administration "to use a popular nominee to further define the President."  Goldstein writes: "Though the general public does not care much about the Court, the perception of a nominee in a high-profile nomination process does translate to some extent onto the President that made the appointment.  If she is regarded as a radical liberal, for example, that will say a good deal about the President who picked her." We still think the hearings are important to get some answers to unanswered questions, especially on the death penalty.

Alliance for Justice Defends Judge Sotomayor's "Controversial" Cases:  At The Ninth Justice, Amy Harder reports that shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Second Circuit's decision in Ricci v.DeStefano, the left-leaning Alliance for Justice issued its final report on Judge Sotomayor's opinions. Harder reports, that "[w]hile the group doesn't officially take positions on nominations, the Alliance's legal experts were quick to come to Sotomayor's defense on Ricci."  William Yeomans, the group's legal director, explained that since Ricci announced a new standard for interpreting Title XII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 there was no way Sotomayor could have applied it as an appellate judge at the time she heard the case.  The report also reviews Maloney v. Cuomo, a Second Amendment case where Judge Sotomayor joined a panel in affirming a lower court's ruling that the Second Amendment doesn't apply to the states.  In addition the report tackles Judge Sotomayor's views on abortion, which the group said show "a real sensitivity to privacy rights and family planning rights."   Considering the source, we have to take all this with a grain of salt.