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Sonia Sotomayor, first Hispanic nominee for Supreme Court

May 26, 2009
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On May 26, President Barack Obama introduced Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the Supreme Court. She is "an extraordinary woman" who would bring to the nation's highest court "the wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life's journey," Obama said.

Judge Sotomayor, 54 years old, called herself "an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunity and experience." She is the first Hispanic nominee for the Supreme Court, thus, her candidacy is historic.

The emotional introduction in the White House's East Room set the stage for a Supreme Court confirmation process that the White House hopes will go smoothly and quickly, Wall Street Journal reports.

Ms. Sotomayor was nominated to the federal bench by a Republican, President George H.W. Bush, and later elevated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York by a Democrat, President Bill Clinton. Her experience, as a lawyer, a prosecutor, a trial judge and an appellate justice, would make her more experienced in the law than any other sitting justice, the president said.

But it is her life story – and the presence of her aging mother – that choked up much of the audience in the East Room. Her parents arrived in New York from Puerto Rico during World War II and took up residence in a public housing project. Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, grew up there, a short walk from Yankee Stadium. She was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age eight. Her father, a factory worker with a third-grade education and no knowledge of English, died when Ms. Sotomayor was 9. Her mother, Celina Sotomayor, a nurse, raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, Juan Sotomayor, who is now a doctor. Sotomayor has credited her mother as being her "life aspiration". In 1976, Sotomayor married while a student at Princeton University. She and her husband divorced in 1983; they did not have children.

With her heart "bursting with gratitude," Ms. Sotomayor recognized her mother to loud applause, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"I am all I am because of her, and I am only half the person she is," she said, beaming from the podium.

She also acknowledged that her life experiences influence her judicial philosophy, a plus, she said, but a potential negative to Republicans. Nevertheless, with only 40 votes in the Senate, the GOP is unlikely to derail her confirmation. Mr. Obama reiterated that he wants her confirmed by September and on the bench for the court's October session.
 
Here are several reactions of some important conservative voices in the Republican Party, as reported by the Associated Press: 

"Senate Republicans will treat Judge Sotomayor fairly. But we will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law evenhandedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences." — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"We must determine if Ms. Sotomayor understands that the proper role of a judge is to act as a neutral umpire of the law, calling balls and strikes fairly without regard to one's own personal preferences or political views." — Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the Judiciary Committee's top Republican.

"She must prove her commitment to impartially deciding cases based on the law, rather than based on her own personal politics, feelings and preferences." — Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, member of the Judiciary Committee.

"The Judiciary Committee should take time to ensure that the nominee will be true to the Constitution and apply the law, not personal politics, feelings or preferences." — Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, member of the Judiciary Committee

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