You will hear much in the days to come about "empathy" and "walking in the shoes of everyday people" and the need for "compassion."
The problem is NONE of those qualities make a good judge.
Judges are to examine facts, and apply the standards of the written text of the law. They are not law-makers, creators, inventors, and so forth.
Liberals have for many years used activist judges to undo the written text of law that was passed by legislatures. The lawful way to change law is through legislative initiatives, not judicial fiat.
Guess which kind of Judge Sonia Sotomayor is: