Washington - President Barack Obama nominated federal Judge
Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court on Tuesday, making her the
first person of Hispanic origin chosen to serve on the country's
highest court.
Sotomayor, who now has to be approved by the US Senate, would
replace Justice David Souter to become the second woman on the nine-
member court and just the third female ever on the Supreme Court.
Viewed as one of the most important and long-lasting decisions
made by a US president, Obama's first Supreme Court nomination was
welcomed by Hispanic groups that had lobbied hard for someone from
their ethnic background to be given a spot on the court.
Sotomayor, 54, has spent most of her career in the US judicial
system and holds degrees from Princeton and Yale University. She
climbed up from humble origins in New York's South Bronx. Her parents
emigrated to the United States from Puerto Rico during World War II.
Obama touted her combination of judicial and real-life experience.
Sotomayor's career 'has given her not only a sweeping overview of the
American judicial system, but a practical understanding of how the
law works in the everyday lives of the American people.'
Sotomayor was first appointed to the federal courts in 1992 by
Republican former president George HW Bush. She was promoted in 1998
by Democratic former president Bill Clinton to the US Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, where she still presides.
Sotomayor called the nomination 'the most humbling honour of my
life.' As a justice, she said she would 'strive never to forget the
real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses
and government.'
Considered a moderate left-leaning judge, some critics have
pointed to Sotomayor's past suggestion that judges play a role in
public policy - a unacceptable position for conservatives who believe
the judiciary should strictly interpret the US Constitution.
'We will throughly examine her record to ensure that she
understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply
the law even-handedly, despite their own feelings or personal or
political preferences,' Senator Mitch McConnell, the chamber's top
Republican, said in a statement.
One of her more controversial decisions involved a Connecticut
fire department that had cancelled a round of promotions because no
African-Americans had qualified. Sotomayor ruled against a group of
white firefighters who had protested in 2008, and the case is now
pending before the Supreme Court that she might be joining.
Another famous ruling came in April 1995 on the professional sport
of baseball, when she issued an injunction against baseball club
owners, effectively putting an end to a nearly eight-month-old
strike.
USA
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