Cabranes noted that it was highly unusual for the panel to have issued a per curiam opinion, because the questions raised on appeal were "indisputably complex and far from well-settled." He wrote, "The core issue presented by this case -- the scope of a municipal employer's authority to disregard examination results based solely on the race of the successful applicants -- is not addressed by any precedent of the Supreme Court or our Circuit. … What is not arguable … is … that this Court has failed to grapple with the questions of exceptional importance raised in this appeal."

Sotomayor and her like-minded colleagues not only highhandedly denied justice to the aggrieved firefighters in this case but also tried to bury their injustice in their summary affirmation of the district court's ruling, something that obviously troubled Judge Cabranes. This is judicial activism at its most egregious and least transparent, when judges disregard the law to achieve the result they prefer and attempt to conceal their actions.

Again, this is what Barack Obama obviously has in mind when he discusses "empathy." In Ricci v. DeStefano, Sotomayor's empathy was for those who weren't aggrieved -- call it "reverse empathy" -- and she just didn't have any left for the poor saps who worked their tails off to earn their promotions -- just as Obama doesn't have any left for mortgage debtors who honor their obligations.

While defenders of Sotomayor will argue that she didn't engage in judicial reverse discrimination in this case, the facts yell otherwise. But if you're still in doubt that she would base her rulings on her personal feelings, be aware that in a speech at Berkeley in 2002, she said it's perfectly acceptable for judges to consider their "experiences as women and people of color" in making their decisions.

Also readily available (on YouTube) is videotape of her saying -- before remembering her comments were being taped and then feigning to backtrack -- that "the Court of Appeals is where policy is made."

Senate Republicans must take a stand and vocally oppose this nomination, not on the basis of partisan politics, but in defense of the rule of law and the proper role of the judiciary, principles the president is only pretending to honor.