 There have been some deviations from the ideological pattern . In a 2013 book on the Roberts Court , author Marcia Coyle assessed Sotomayor 's position on the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment as a strong guarantee of the right of a defendant to confront his or her accusers . Sotomayor 's judicial philosophy on the issue is seen as being in parity with Elena Kagan and , unexpectedly for Sotomayor , also in at least partial agreement with the originalist reading of Antonin Scalia when applied to the clause . 
