Obama Names New York-Born Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court

May 26, 2009 - President Barack Obama chose federal appeals
judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court
justice on Tuesday, praising her as "an inspiring woman" with
both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution
wisely.
Obama said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any
current member of the high court had when nominated, adding she has
earned the "respect of colleagues on the bench, the admiration of
many lawyers who argue cases in her court and the adoration of her
clerks, who look to her as a mentor."
Standing next to Obama at the White House, Sotomayor recalled a
childhood spent in a housing project in the Bronx as well as her
upper-echelon legal career: "I strive never to forget the real
world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and
government."
Barring the unexpected, Senate confirmation seems likely, given
the large Democratic majority. If approved, she would join Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court, the
third in history. She would succeed retiring Justice David Souter.
Senate Republicans pledged to give her a fair hearing. Given her
background, any decision to filibuster could carry political risks,
since Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the population
and an increasingly important one politically.
Sotomayor would be unlikely to alter the ideological balance of
the court, since Souter generally sides with the liberals on key
5-4 rulings. But at 54, she is a generation younger that Souter,
and liberal outside groups hope she will provide a counterpoint to
some of the sharply worded conservative rulings.
Introducing his choice, Obama said, "Along the way, she's faced
down barriers, overcome the odds and lived out the American dream
that brought her parents here so long ago."
The president called on the Senate to confirm Sotomayor before
the court begins its new term in October, and noted pointedly that
she has already won Senate approval twice in her career.
She was nominated a federal judge by a Republican, President
George H.W. Bush, then elevated to the appeals court by a Democrat,
Bill Clinton. Senate Republicans slow-walked her confirmation more
than a decade ago, in part because she was viewed even then as a
potential pick for the Supreme Court.
The White House announcement ceremony was a picture of
diversity, the first black president, appointing the first Hispanic
Supreme Court justice, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, who is
white.
Sotomayor's nomination opens a new phase in the drive to replace
Souter, as liberal and conservative groups alike scour the record
she has compiled in 17 years on the federal bench.
In one of her most notable decisions, as an appellate judge she
sided last year with the city of New Haven, Conn., in a
discrimination case brought by white firefighters. The city threw
out results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored
high enough. Coincidentally, that case is now before the Supreme
Court.
That ruling has already drawn criticism from conservatives, and
is likely to play a role in her confirmation hearing.
In one of her most memorable rulings as federal district judge,
in 1995, Sotomayor ruled with Major League Baseball players over
owners in a labor strike that had led to the cancellation of the
World Series.
Obama referred to that in his remarks, then joked he hoped her
support for the Yankees would not unduly influence New Englanders
to oppose her in the Senate.
Among them is Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, who said, "The American people will
want the Senate to carry out its constitutional duty with
conscientiousness and civility."
The Senate Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky,
issued a statement that said: "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."
In his remarks, Obama made no mention of his earlier statement
that he wanted a justice with empathy, although his remark that
compassion was needed came close.
Sotomayor grew up in New York after her parents moved from
Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her
father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble
surroundings. As a girl, inspired by the Perry Mason television
show, she knew she wanted to be a judge.
A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former
prosecutor and private attorney, Sotomayor became a federal judge
for the Southern District of New York in 1992. She became an
appeals judge in 1998 for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
which covers New York, Vermont and Connecticut.
At her Senate confirmation hearing more than a decade ago, she
said, "I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any
circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it."
Obama's nomination is the first by a Democratic president in 15
years.
One conservative group did not wait for the formal announcement.
Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network, issued a statement
calling Sotomayor a "liberal judicial activist of the first order
who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important that
the law as written."
Abortion rights have been a flashpoint in several recent Supreme
Court confirmations, although Sotomayor has not written any
controversial rulings on the subject.
As a federal appeals court judge in 2002, she ruled against an
abortion rights group that had challenged a government policy
prohibiting foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds from
performing or supporting abortions.
In her opinion, Sotomayor wrote that the government was free to
favor the anti-abortion position over a pro-choice position when
public funds were involved.
Sotomayor has spoken about her pride in her ethnic background
and has said that personal experiences "affect the facts that
judges choose to see."
"I simply do not know exactly what the difference will be in my
judging," she said in a speech in 2002. "But I accept there will
be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage."
From the moment Souter announced his resignation, it was widely
assumed Obama would select a woman to replace him, and perhaps a
Hispanic as well.
Obama came to office at a time when several potential vacancies
loomed on the high court. Justice John Paul Stevens at is 89, and
Ginsburg recently underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer.