WASHINGTON  – Republican Sen. Richard Burr says he will vote against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

The North Carolina senator says he is troubled by the judge’s decisions in cases where she “appears to have relied on something other than well-settled law” to make her decision. He says he is afraid she cannot separate her personal beliefs from the law.

He added that he believes she has clearly ignored precedent in several cases, saying he finds “little predictability in her decisions and the implications they may have.”

Burr, who is up for re-election next year, compared his decision with that of President Barack Obama in 2005, when the then-senator voted against Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Senate is expected to vote on the nomination next week.