LOCATION AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Barbara Perry, director of the Center for Civic Renewal and Carter Glass Professor of Government at Sweet Briar College, is in the middle of writing a new book about Catholics on the U.S. Supreme Court, so it's no surprise she is fielding a few media inquiries these days. President Barack Obama's nomination yesterday of Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter would bring the number of Catholics on the court to six if she is confirmed.

In a story posted today on CNN Politics.com, Perry told CNN Radio reporter Lisa Desjardins, "Presidents used to reserve a Catholic seat and a Jewish seat on the Supreme Court. Now we've moved from a Catholic seat on the court to a Catholic court."

Perry also appeared on "CNN Newsroom" with Don Lemon today to discuss the appointment of Sotomayor, a who would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to sit on the bench. In response to a question about Roe v. Wade, Perry said she believes the nominee's religion would not play a role in decisions affecting the "core" of that landmark case, which assures women legal access to abortion.

Lemon also asked about a controversial affirmative action case currently before the court. In Ricci v. DeStefano, Sotomayor was on a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that sided against mostly white firefighters claiming reverse discrimination against the city of New Haven, Conn.

Noting that the Supreme Court likely will overturn that decision in the coming weeks, she agreed that Sotomayor's role in the case will concern opponents of affirmative action. "I should think she might be more along the lines of Justice O'Connor in the Michigan affirmative action cases to uphold certain kinds of affirmative action," she said, referring to retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative appointed by Ronald Reagan.

Perry published a book on the Michigan cases in 2007. Her forthcoming book is titled "Catholics on the Supreme Court."