Five years later, we can take stock of how her direct experience working on criminal law cases has influenced her jurisprudence on the Court. Justice Sotomayor’s view in criminal cases is firmly grounded in how things actually work in practice, and she pays close attention to the specific facts of cases before her. Her experience as an assistant district attorney and trial judge also seems to have made her attuned to the need for checks on government power. Obviously, not all state prosecutors who go on to become trial judges will bring the same perspective. Justice Sotomayor’s views are likely also influenced by her personal life history and general perspective on the role of a judge in a system of separated powers. But the combination of Justice Sotomayor’s background, outlook, and professional experience have given the Court a perspective on criminal justice that it has been lacking: one that is fully informed by how things work on the ground and how real people interact with criminal justice policies in the vast majority of cases in the system. Justice Sotomayor’s rich knowledge of the criminal justice system, coupled with her meticulous reading of the record below and attention to empirical studies, often leads her to reject bright-line rules that would promote predictability but at the expense of accurately reflecting what is happening on the ground. She has been a strong voice in favor of making sure that the Court’s rules never lose sight of the real world in which they need to apply.