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As the confirmation hearing proceeds, it is worth remembering the important areas where Judge Sonia Sotomayor is on the liberal extreme.  Robert Alt of the Heritage Foundation helpfully covers three of the most important cases.  He writes:

Throughout her career, Judge Sotomayor has made statements and issued decisions that raise grave concerns about her impartiality, her judicial philosophy, her views on ethnicity and gender, and her perspective on issues ranging from gun rights, to property rights, to U.S. courts' reliance on foreign law. With that in mind, here are three troublesome cases that will highlight the hearings:

Second Amendment. Everyone knows about the 32 words Judge Sotomayor uttered about the "wise Latina woman," but what about the 11 words? That's how many she dedicated to determining whether a state law prohibiting weapons possession involved a fundamental right. She held that the Second Amendment doesn't apply to the states -- a ruling that would permit local governments to completely ban gun possession if they so desire.

Sotomayor's defenders have suggested that this case is an example of judicial restraint, because she relied upon 19th century cases in deciding that weapons could be outlawed. But the Supreme Court just last year said those cases do not meet the requirements of current law. This defense also ignores that Sotomayor did not cite a single case in her decision, just dismissing seven pages of analysis that the Ninth Circuit conducted to reach the conclusion that the right to bear arms is a fundamental one, deeply rooted in our nation's history.