In a report released today, the left-leaning Alliance for Justice examined some of Sonia Sotomayor's business and consumer law decisions, which make up a substantial part of the 2nd Circuit caseload.

In a conference call today with reporters, the Alliance highlighted some of Sotomayor's better-known business rulings, including her now-famous move as a district judge to end the 1995 baseball strike, and an appellate case on NFL eligibility rights. Her rulings in these and other labor cases show that she "cannot be pigeonholed as pro-union, pro-employer, or pro-employee," the report states. Sotomayor included both these cases on her lists of significant decisions in her Senate questionnaire, but they have not been a factor in the nomination debate.

Michael Greve, an American Enterprise Institute scholar, said that business cases tend to be too "deep in the weeds" to trigger much scrutiny. "I don't think the business community will man the barricades over this stuff," he said.

Although he was sharply critical of Sotomayor when the nomination was announced, Greve's view now squares with the Alliance's evaluation. "She has a fairly moderate record. Her record in employment law cases is sometimes pro-employer, sometimes pro-employee," he said. "There is no overall bias that plaintiff always wins."

The one point which could make business leaders uneasy, Greve said, is her record in class-action rulings. "She was remarkably friendly to class-action suits, even considering she is on a very pro-plaintiff court," Greve said. "If anybody is nervous about anything, that's probably what people will pay attention to."

The Alliance report highlighted the fact that the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Sotomayor, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has yet to do so. The U.S. Chamber is conducting an evaluation of her record, according to a spokesperson.

(The New York Times and The Volokh Conspiracy have more on Sotomayor's business rulings).