Persuading Others to Think Wrongly??

Power of persuasion, Slate: Sotomayor Sides with the Cops. I can't tell if this is good or bad - the jury saw the evidence differently but Sotomayor, whose mind seemed to be made up before the case was even argued, managed to persuade two other judges to change their minds - is this a case of persistent badgering until someone gets tired of it and relents or is this a case of making hard and logical arguments that convinces others of your position. Again, it is hard to tell from the article - seems to be the former, though.