Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Maria Sotomayor, is an American judge and lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated her and she has been serving since August 8, 2009. She is the third, first Hispanic, first Latina, and first woman of color to be elected to the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor was raised in The Bronx, New York City and by Puerto Rican-born parents. When she was nine years old, her father died. She was raised by her mother. Summa cum laude, Sotomayor was a Princeton University graduate in 1976. She received her Juris Doctor in 1979 from Yale Law School. She was active on the boards of directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and the State of New York Mortgage Agency and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

Sotomayor was elected to the U.S. In 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Sotomayor to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Confirmation followed in 1992. President Bill Clinton nominated her to the U.S. Senate in 1997. Court of Appeals for Second Circuit. Although her nomination was delayed by the Republican majority of the United States Senate , she was ultimately confirmed in 1998. Sotomayor listened to appeals in over 3,000 cases and wrote approximately 380 opinions. Sotomayor was a professor at the New York University School of Law, and Columbia Law School.

After the retirement of Justice David Souter, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for the Supreme Court in May 2009. In August 2009, the Senate approved her nomination by a vote 68 to 31. Sotomayor supported the informal liberal bloc, which is composed of justices that are not divided along ideological lines while she was on the Court. Sotomayor’s tenure on the Supreme Court has seen her voice concern for defendants and calls for reform in the criminal justice system. She also made passionate dissents about issues such as Schuette v. BAMN and Utah v. Strieff and Trump v. Hawaii.