Sonia Maria Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954) was President Obama's first US Supreme Court nominee, who was recently confirmed and sworn in to replace Justice David H. Souter, who retired from the US Supreme Court at the end of June 2009. She is the first Latina justice in the Supreme Court's history.
Sotomayor's judicial career began in 1992, when George H. W. Bush nominated her to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, with the enthusiastic backing of both New York Republican and Democratic Senators.
Bill Clinton nominated Sotomayor to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1997. Her nomination was held in the Senate for a year because some Republicans were afraid she was being put on a fast-track to the US Supreme Court. She was finally confirmed by a Senate vote of 67-29 (which included approval from 25 Republicans) in 1998.
On August 6, 2009, the US Senate confirmed Sotomayor's nomination by a vote of 68-31, making her the 111th US Supreme Court Justice. Although the vote was split along party lines, the unanimous Democratic endorsement was joined by nine Republicans and both Senate Independents. Sonia Sotomayor took the Constitutional and Judicial Oaths of Office on August 8, 2009. She will begin sitting with the Court during the 2009-2010 Term, which begins on the first Monday in October.
For more information on Justice Sonia Sotomayor, see Related Links, below.
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who formally joined the US Supreme Court on August 8, 2009, is the first Latina on the Court.
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