26 May 2009
U.S. High Court Nominee’s Career Shaped by Personal Experiences
Washington — A U.S. Supreme Court justice should have not only a “mastery of the law” but also “experience being tested by obstacles and barriers,” President Obama said May 26.
Sonia Sotomayor, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, has this experience, Obama said on selecting her to serve as a justice on the United States’ highest court. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
“I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights,” Sotomayor said at the White House. “For as long as I can remember, I have been inspired by the achievement of our Founding Fathers. They set forth principles that have endured for more than two centuries.”
“It would be a profound privilege for me to play a role in applying those principles to the questions and controversies we face today,” she said.
Sotomayor has served 11 years as a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a position to which she was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton. Prior to that, Republican President George H.W. Bush nominated her in 1992 to serve as a judge on a U.S. District Court, also in New York. Sotomayor has also worked as a lawyer, both for a private-sector firm and as an assistant district attorney in New York City.
“Over a distinguished career that spans three decades, Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system, providing her with a depth of experience and a breadth of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice,” Obama said.
“But as impressive and meaningful as Judge Sotomayor’s sterling credentials in the law is her own extraordinary journey,” the president said.
Sotomayor’s parents came to New York from Puerto Rico during World War II. Her father died when she was 9. Sotomayor was raised by her mother in a public housing project in the Bronx, a part of New York City. She earned scholarships that helped her attend Princeton University and later attended Yale Law School.
“I stand on the shoulders of countless people,” Sotomayor said, noting that her mother often worked two jobs to help support her family.
“Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich. I was raised in a Bronx public housing project but studied at two of the nation’s finest universities,” she said.
The variety of her personal and professional experiences has helped Sotomayor “appreciate the variety of perspectives” that occur in every legal case, she said. “It has helped me to understand, respect and respond to the concerns and arguments of all litigants who appear before me.”
“I strive never to forget the real-world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government,” Sotomayor said.
Sotomayor’s story suggests that “no dream is beyond reach in the United States of America,” Obama said.
For more, see “Obama Picks Sonia Sotomayor to Serve on U.S. Supreme Court.”
