The Congressional Research Service, or CRS, describes its mission as providing Congress “objective, non-partisan assessments of legislative options for addressing the public policy problems facing the nation.” It identifies among its “core values” being “objective and nonpartisan” and claims that its “experts are vigilant in evaluating issues without bias.” Yet just last week CRS issued a report titled “Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions,” the summary of which includes such “objective and nonpartisan” assessments as:

Perhaps the most consistent characteristic of Judge Sotomayor’s approach as an appellate judge has been an adherence to the doctrine of stare decisis, i.e., the upholding of past judicial precedents. Other characteristics appear to include what many would describe as a careful application of particular facts at issue in a case and a dislike for situations in which the court might be seen as oversteping [sic] its judicial role.

Just wondering: Has CRS ever before prepared an assessment of the record of a Supreme Court nominee? [Update: The answer turns out to be yes.] Why is it doing so now?