News Interest Index: First Impressions of Sotomayor Mostly Positive

Report Read time:
News Interest Index: First Impressions of Sotomayor Mostly Positive

Americans who have learned at least a little  about Judge Sonia Sotomayor are more likely to offer traits or aspects they like about President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee than things they do not like about the federal appellate court judge from New York.

Asked if there was anything they have learned that they like about Sotomayor, 45% offered responses, most frequently citing her background and experience, her gender and her ethnicity. Asked if they had learned anything they dislike about her, a smaller share (26%) offered responses, with relatively small percentages citing allegations that she is racially biased (7%) or a judicial activist (5%).

Still, large shares of Americans either offer no answer to the question (29% on what they like; 48% on what they dislike) or say they have not yet learned anything about the woman who would be the first Hispanic justice on the nation's top court (26%).

Read the full report First Impressions of Sotomayor Mostly Positive on the Pew Research Center's People & the Press Web site.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.