Justice Sotomayor's First Vote

In case you didn't hear it, Justice Sonia Sotomayor cast her first Supreme Court vote this week. In keeping with her track record, she wound up on the losing side. However, she did give an indication of what kind of justice she will be.

In this matter, Sotomayor joined other liberal justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer in voting to stop a scheduled execution of a convicted murderer in Ohio. They lost by a 5-4 vote Monday night. The next morning, Jason Getsy, 33, a convicted hit-man was put to death. The issue was not guilt or innocence, but rather the fact that other participants in the contract murder had not received the death penalty.

Ironically, having been a former prosecutor, some folks were telling us during the confirmation process that she was tough when it came to law and order. That was one of the few straws conservatives had to hold on to and hope for. Perhaps it's too soon to decide that question, but there is Sotomayor's first Supreme Court vote, for what it's worth.