Contrasting opinions

It is ironic that if Justice Samuel Alito ’72’s Concerned Alumni of Princeton had had its way, Justice Sonia Sotomayor ’76 would not have been admitted to Princeton.

Justice Alito’s alliance with an organization that sought to block affirmative action and the admission of women to Princeton is one demonstration of the truth behind Ms. Sotomayor’s statement, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

There will be many more such demonstrations in the opinions that are likely to be written by the two Princeton justices in the years to come.