 Sotomayor 's circuit court rulings led to her being considered a political centrist by the ABA Journal and other sources and organizations . Several lawyers , legal experts , and news organizations identified her as someone with liberal inclinations . In any case , the Second Circuit 's caseload typically skewed more toward business and securities law rather than hot @-@ button social or constitutional issues . Sotomayor tended to write narrow , practiced rulings that relied on close application of the law to the facts of a case rather than import general philosophical viewpoints . A Congressional Research Service analysis found that Sotomayor 's rulings defied easy ideological categorization , but did show an adherence to precedent and an avoidance of overstepping the circuit court 's judicial role . Unusually , Sotomayor read through all the supporting documents of cases under review ; her lengthy rulings explored every aspect of a case and tended to feature leaden , ungainly prose . Some legal experts have said that Sotomayor 's attention to detail and re @-@ examination of the facts of a case came close to overstepping the traditional role of appellate judges . 
