Washington - Sonia Sotomayor was raised in a public housing
development in New York City's impoverished South Bronx, but a strong
work ethic helped her graduate from two top US universities and rise
quickly through the US judicial system.
On Tuesday, Sotomayor was tapped by President Barack Obama to
became the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court. She would be
only the third woman appointed to the country's highest court.
While Sotomayor spent her entire career serving different roles in
the US judicial system, she said her personal story has given her
insight into the 'real-world consequences' of the law. Her rise from
humble origins was touted by Obama as an example of 'the American
dream' in action.
Sotomayor's parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico during
World War II. Her father, a factory worker, died when she was 9 years
old.
Sotomayor credits her mother, a nurse, for a focus on education
that helped her graduate top in her high-school class and win a
scholarship to Princeton University. She later gained a law degree
from Yale University.
After graduating, Sotomayor became an assistant district attorney
in Manhattan, prosecuting criminal cases. She later turned to private
practice, becoming a civil litigator and making partner at New York
law firm Pavia and Harcourt LLP.
Sotomayor, 54, was first appointed to the federal courts in 1992
by Republican former president George HW Bush, making her the first
Hispanic federal judge in New York's history.
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.
Considered a moderate left-leaning judge, Sotomayor has rarely
ruled on the more divisive ethical topics in the United States, such
as abortion or the death penalty. But some conservatives have
criticized her for past comments suggesting the judiciary plays a
role in public policy.
One of her more controversial decisions involved a Connecticut
fire department that 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.
Perhaps her most famous ruling came in 1995 on the professional
sport of baseball. Sotomayor issued an injunction against club owners
and effectively ended a nearly eight-month-old strike.
'Some say that Judge Sotomayor saved baseball,' Obama quipped.
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