Sonia Sotomayor nominated for Supreme Court

To replace the retiring Justice David Souter, President Obama has nominated 54-year-old Sonia Sotomayor, a New York-based federal judge.

Although Sotomayor is described as a moderate - which since the mid-'90s has usually meant conservative - she has had some bright spots. For instance, she ruled against a series of intrusive strip searches at juvenile detention centers of teenage girls who had not been charged with a crime. Thus, Sotomayor dissented from more conservative colleagues.

A bit of triv you won't see many other places: Since sometime in the Nixon years, almost every new Supreme Court Justice has been more conservative than the one they replaced. The only exception has been Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Assuming Sotomayor is confirmed, it's possible that this outrageous streak has finally been broken. But since judges aren't supposed to really have positions, it's hard to tell.