Sotomayor Takes Lead as Dissenter for Embattled Liberal Justices

US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is now positioned to be the lead dissenter on a liberal wing that’s powerless to stop the court’s conservative majority from pushing federal law to the right.

She’s already the most prolific dissenter. Sotomayor joined the majority 57% of the time this term, compared to 75% in the previous one. Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement means the first Latina justice who joined the court in 2009 is now the liberal bloc’s most senior member with the power to assign dissenting opinions when the court splits along ideological lines, which it did in 13 cases this ...