Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in February 2008 to upholda lower court decision supporting New Haven's move to throw out the results.
Lord Pannick argued that there was no danger of a successful challenge under human rights law, because the European Court of Human Rights precedent was firmly against the idea that people had a human right to a particular kind of religious marriage - so if a marriage was refused for religious reasons, the courts would uphold that decision.