When attorney Jules Lobel appeared at a hearing before the entire 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals six months ago, he was impressed by what the judges asked.

One judge in particular, Sonia Sotomayor, peppered Mr. Lobel's co-counsel with tough, perceptive questions, he said.

Yesterday, she was announced as President Barack Obama's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

"She played a very active role," Mr. Lobel said. "The questions she asked expressed skepticism about the government's argument."

The case, which still hasn't been decided, involves a Canadian man with dual citizenship in Syria, who was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York by immigration officials in 2002. They accused him of being a member of al-Qaida and sent him to Syria, where he was tortured and held for a year without charges before finally being released to Canada, Mr. Lobel said.

At the oral argument Dec. 9, Mr. Lobel, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, was impressed by Judge Sotomayor. "What she was able to do was combine common sense with technical legal thinking," he said.

That, local experts said, is likely just one reason why they believe that Judge Sotomayor will easily make it through the Senate confirmation process.

"I think it's a first-class pick," said Duquesne Law interim Dean Kenneth Gormley. Further, he believes that her background as a Latina will bring a valuable breadth of diversity to the court.

Robert L. Byer, a local attorney who specializes in appellate law, has followed Judge Sotomayor's career since she was on the district court. "It seemed from the very beginning of her career as a judge, she was getting interesting cases," he said.

Among the first he recalls was her 1995 decision in issuing an injunction against Major League Baseball owners, essentially ending the strike. "My impression of her is she's highly competent. She hasn't been shy about writing separate opinions," he said.

Just last week, he read a dissenting opinion she wrote involving inmate strip searches at a local jail. The 2nd Circuit panel's majority found that there were no problems with the searches, but Judge Sotomayor found differently. "I think her dissenting opinion evinced a very liberal view of the 4th Amendment," Mr. Byer said.

St. Vincent College political science professor Bradley C.S. Watson believes that Judge Sotomayor embraces the concept of a "living Constitution," interpreting it to change with the times. That, he said, is consistent with Mr. Obama's beliefs.

"The characteristic virtue of a judge is impartiality in interpreting words," Mr. Watson said. The Constitution should stand on its own, he said, and any changes necessary to meet the times should come from the people, not the courts. But Mr. Watson added that he has not done a thorough review of the judge's writings or opinions.

Even with some potential causes for concern -- for instance, that judge has said she takes her personal background into consideration in her work -- Mr. Watson still believes that she will be confirmed.

University of Pittsburgh law professor Arthur Hellman believes that will be true for at least two reasons. First, he said, he doesn't believe that Republicans will want to put up much in the way of resources to fight the nomination. Second, he said, he doesn't believe that they will really want to be seen as going after the first Hispanic candidate for the court. But he expects lively questioning despite a speedy confirmation process.