On Chicago-based federal appeals Judge Diane Wood , who administration sources have said came very close to being chosen over Kagan -- Tribe said she was `` more powerful intellectually than Sonia Sotomayor or any of the others mentioned as plausible prospects at the moment with the sole exception of Kagan . '' Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe said Sotomayor could have a `` negative impact '' on the court and its legitimacy. His comments were in a letter to Obama in May 2009 .
Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe said Sotomayor could have a `` negative impact '' on the court and its legitimacy. His comments were in a letter to Obama in May 2009 .