Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed, to no one’s surprise.  The newspapers report that Hispanics are proud to have a justice on the Supreme Court who shares their heritage.  That’s great, showing that the United States is no longer foreclosing the possibility that a Latina can be a justice, any more than a black man can be President.

Now that the nation has overcome another hurdle on the road to inclusiveness, however, it’s time to live with the consequences of the choice.  The same Hispanics who applaud now-Justice Sotomayor’s elevation to the big bench may well find themselves stopped and searched on the streets of Washington Heights for no better reason than the cops can, and do, routinely stop Hispanics just to check them out.

Will a wise Latina, whose legal career was largely attuned to the needs of police to enforce Order, care about her fans? 

It’s possible that she will remember who she is, and that but for her ADA shield, or judicial license plates, she might be the one stopped for fun.  Colin Powell remembers that he was treated like a black man rather than a General.  Perhaps Sonia Sotomayor has had a similar experience.  Perhaps Sonia Sotomayor, realizing that she is now in a position to give effect to the promise of the Constitution, will chose to extol the rule rather than the exceptions.  It’s not like she can be unconfirmed.

Some of us are suspicious of this choice for justice.  If a Democratic President, with a Democratic Senate, can’t find the will or desire to nominate someone who brings a strong passion for constitutional rights and personal freedom, and instead manifests a career of putting order ahead of law, then there isn’t much hope.  But it’s possible that Judge Sotomayor’s support of law enforcement over defendants during her career on the lower benches will change now that she is part of a small cabal charged with formulating the rules rather than merely following them.  The power that comes of being one of 9 could change everything.  It has before.  And it hasn’t before.

Whether Sonia Sotomayor will be a justice who will be remembered for anything more than being Latina has yet to be seen.  In her first year, she will have an opportunity to vote, and write, about issues that matter enormously to this nation.  It may take longer, perhaps even a few years, before she feels sufficiently comfortable to take a firm stance.  For the sake of the nation and the Constitution, I hope that her stance will be for the Rule of Law over the expediency of Order.  We shall see.