Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor
A formal pose from waist up of a smiling, light-medium-skinned woman with somewhat curly black hair of almost shoulder length, dressed in a black judicial robe and standing behind a chair with hands folded on the chair, in formal-looking room with medium brown wood paneling and a bit of painting on a wall.
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office 
August 8, 2009[1]
Nominated by Barack Obama
Preceded by David Souter
Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office
October 7, 1998 – August 6, 2009
Nominated by Bill Clinton
Preceded by Daniel Mahoney
Succeeded by Raymond Lohier (Designate)
Judge of the District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office
August 12, 1992 – October 7, 1998
Nominated by George H. W. Bush
Preceded by John Walker
Succeeded by Victor Marrero
Born June 25, 1954 (1954-06-25) (age 56)
The Bronx, United States
Spouse(s) Kevin Noonan (1976–1983)
Residence Greenwich Village
Alma mater Princeton University
Yale Law School
Religion Roman Catholicism[2]

Sonia Maria Sotomayor (English pronunciation: /ˈsoʊnjə ˌsoʊtoʊmaɪˈjɔr/, Spanish: [ˈsonja sotomaˈʝor];[3] born June 25, 1954) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice.

Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York City and is of Puerto Rican descent. Her father died when she was nine, and she was subsequently raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with an A.B., summa cum laude, from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. She was an advocate for the hiring of Latino faculty at both schools. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for five years before entering private practice in 1984. She played an active role on the boards of directors for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991, and her nomination was confirmed in 1992. In 1995, she issued a preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball which ended the 1994 baseball strike. Sotomayor made a ruling allowing the Wall Street Journal to publish Vince Foster's final note. In 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her nomination was slowed by the Republican majority in the Senate, but she was eventually confirmed in 1998. On the Second Circuit, Sotomayor heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and wrote about 380 opinions. Sotomayor has taught at the New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School.

In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retired Justice David Souter. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2009 by a vote of 68–31.

Contents

Early life

A woman and man, both in their thirties and both dressed in 'Sunday best', hold a similarly dressed very young girl standing on the arm of a floral-print sofa.
Sotomayor and her parents
A studio pose of a six- or seven-year-old girl with short dark curly hair in a sleeveless print dress.
Sotomayor as a young girl

Sonia Maria Sotomayor[4] was born in the Bronx, a borough of New York City.[5]Her father was Juan Sotomayor (born c. 1921),[6] from the area of Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico,[7][8][9] and her mother was Celina Báez (born 1927),[10] from the neighborhood of Santa Rosa in Lajas, a still mostly rural area on Puerto Rico's southwest coast.[9] They left Puerto Rico, met, and married during World War II after Celina served in the Women's Army Corps.[11][12] He had a third-grade education, did not speak English, and worked as a tool and die worker;[7] she worked as a telephone operator and then a practical nurse.[6] Sonia's younger brother, Juan Sotomayor (born c. 1957), is a physician and university professor in the Syracuse, New York area.[13][14]

Sotomayor was raised a Catholic[2] and grew up among other Puerto Ricans who settled in the South Bronx and East Bronx; she self-identifies as a "Nuyorican".[11] At first, she lived in a South Bronx tenement.[15] In 1957, the family moved to the well-maintained, racially and ethnically mixed, working-class Bronxdale Houses housing project[15][16][17] in Soundview (which has at times been considered part of both the East Bronx and South Bronx).[18][19][20] Her relative proximity to Yankee Stadium led to her becoming a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees.[21] The extended family got together frequently[15] and regularly visited Puerto Rico during summers.[22]

Sonia was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age eight,[7][19] and began taking daily insulin injections.[23] Her father died of heart problems at age 42, when she was nine years old.[6][15] After this, she became fluent in English.[7] Sotomayor has said that she was first inspired by the strong-willed Nancy Drew book character, and then after her diabetes diagnosis led doctors to suggest a different career from detective, she was inspired to go into a legal career and become a judge by watching the Perry Mason television series.[7][21][23] She reflected in 1998: "I was going to college and I was going to become an attorney, and I knew that when I was ten. Ten. That's no jest."[21]

Celina Sotomayor put great stress on the value of education; she bought the Encyclopædia Britannica for her children, something unusual in the housing projects.[11] Sotomayor has credited her mother with being her "life inspiration".[24] For grammar school, Sotomayor attended the parochial Blessed Sacrament School in Soundview,[25] where she was valedictorian and had a near-perfect attendance record.[20][26] Although underage, Sotomayor worked at a local retail store; she also worked at a hospital.[27] Sotomayor passed the entrance tests for, then commuted to, the academically rigorous parochial Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.[15][28][29] Meanwhile, the Bronxdale Houses had fallen victim to increasing heroin use, crime, and the emergence of the Black Spades gang.[15] In 1970, the family found refuge by moving to Co-op City in the Northeast Bronx.[15] At Cardinal Spellman, Sotomayor was on the forensics team and was elected to the student government.[28][29] She graduated as valedictorian in 1972.[11]

College and law school

When Sotomayor entered Princeton University on a full scholarship,[30] there were few women students and fewer Latinos (about 20).[11][31] She knew only of the Bronx and Puerto Rico,[32] and she later described her initial Princeton experience as like "a visitor landing in an alien country."[33] She was too intimidated to ask questions for her first year there;[33] her writing and vocabulary skills were weak, and she lacked knowledge in the classics.[34] She put in long hours in the library and over summers, worked with a professor outside class, and gained skills, knowledge, and confidence.[11][31][34] She became a moderate student activist[28][35] and co-chair of the Acción Puertorriqueña organization, which looked for more opportunities for Puerto Rican students and served as a social and political hub for them.[11][36][37] She worked in the admissions office, travelling to high schools and lobbying on behalf of her best prospects.[38] Sotomayor focused in particular on faculty hiring and curriculum; at the time, Princeton did not have a single full-time Latino professor nor any class on Latin America.[39] Sotomayor later addressed the curriculum issue in an opinion piece in the college paper: "Not one permanent course in this university now deals in any notable detail with the Puerto Rican or Chicano cultures."[40] After a visit to university president William G. Bowen in her sophomore year did not produce results,[37] the organization filed a formal letter of complaint in April 1974 with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, saying the school discriminated in its hiring and admission practices.[36][39][41] Sotomayor told The New York Times at the time that "Princeton is following a policy of benign neutrality and is not making substantive efforts to change,"[41] and she wrote opinion pieces for the Daily Princetonian with the same theme.[11] The university began to hire Latino faculty,[35][39] and Sotomayor established an ongoing dialogue with Bowen.[38] Sotomayor also successfully persuaded historian Peter Winn to create a seminar on Puerto Rican history and politics.[39] Sotomayor joined the governance board of Princeton's Third World Center and served on the university's student–faculty Discipline Committee, which issued rulings on student infractions.[38][42] She also ran an after-school program for local children[35] and volunteered as an interpreter for Latino patients at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.[11][32][43]

A formal pose of a young woman in her early twenties, dark straight hair parted near the center, wearing a dark floral print top.
Sotomayor’s 1976 Princeton yearbook photo

A history major, Sotomayor received almost all A's in her final two years of college.[42] Sotomayor wrote her senior thesis at Princeton on Luis Muñoz Marín, the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico, and on the territory's struggles for economic and political self-determination.[11] The 178-page work, "La Historia Ciclica de Puerto Rico: The Impact of the Life of Luis Muñoz Marin on the Political and Economic History of Puerto Rico, 1930–1975",[44] won honorable mention for the Latin American Studies Thesis Prize.[45] As a senior, Sotomayor won the Pyne Prize, the top award for undergraduates, which reflected both strong grades and extracurricular activities.[11][28][42] In 1976, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa[11][46] and awarded an A.B. from Princeton, graduating summa cum laude.[47] Sotomayor has described her time at Princeton as a life-changing experience.[48]

On August 14, 1976, just after graduating from Princeton, Sotomayor married Kevin Edward Noonan, whom she had dated since high school,[8][11] in a small chapel at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.[29] She used the married name Sonia Sotomayor de Noonan.[49][50][51] He became a biologist and a patent lawyer.[11]

In the fall of 1976, Sotomayor entered Yale Law School, again on a scholarship.[21] This, too, was a place with very few Latinos.[37] She fit in well and was known as a hard worker, but she was not considered among the top stars of her class.[16][50] Yale General Counsel and professor José A. Cabranes was an early mentor to her and helped her to understand how she could be successful within "the system".[52] She became an editor of the Yale Law Journal[8] and was also managing editor of the student-run Yale Studies in World Public Order publication, which is now known as the Yale Journal of International Law.[53] Sotomayor published a law review note on the effect of possible Puerto Rican statehood on the island's mineral and ocean rights.[11][28] She was a semi-finalist in the Barristers Union mock trial competition.[53] She was co-chair of a group for Latin, Asian, and Native American students, and in her advocacy pushed for hiring more Hispanics for the faculty of the law school.[31][37] In her third year, she filed a formal complaint against the established Washington, D.C., law firm of Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge for suggesting during a recruiting dinner that she was only at Yale via affirmative action.[28][37] Sotomayor refused to be interviewed by the firm further and filed her complaint with a faculty–student tribunal, which ruled in her favor.[37][39] Her action triggered a campus-wide debate,[52] and news of the firm's subsequent December 1978 apology made The Washington Post.[49] In 1979, she was awarded a J.D. from Yale Law School.[8] She was admitted to the New York Bar in 1980.[51]

Early legal career

On the recommendation of Cabranes, Sotomayor was hired out of law school as an assistant district attorney under New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau starting in 1979.[8][52] She said at the time that she did so with conflicted emotions: "There was a tremendous amount of pressure from my community, from the third world community, at Yale. They could not understand why I was taking this job. I'm not sure I've ever resolved that problem."[54] It was a time of crisis-level crime rates and drug problems in New York, Morgenthau's staff was overburdened with cases, and like other rookie prosecutors she was initially fearful of appearing before judges in court.[55] Working in the trial division,[56] she handled heavy caseloads as she prosecuted everything from shoplifting and prostitution to robberies, assaults, and murders.[8][11][57] She also worked on cases involving police brutality.[30] She was not afraid to venture into tough neighborhoods or endure squalid conditions in order to interview witnesses.[57][58] In the courtroom, she was effective at cross examination and at simplifying a case in ways that a jury could relate to.[57] She helped convict the "Tarzan Murderer" (who acrobatically entered apartments, robbed them, and shot residents for no reason) in 1983 in her highest-profile case.[55][59] She felt lower-level crimes were largely products of socioeconomic environment and poverty, but she had a different attitude about serious felonies: "No matter how liberal I am, I'm still outraged by crimes of violence. Regardless of whether I can sympathize with the causes that lead these individuals to do these crimes, the effects are outrageous."[54] Hispanic-on-Hispanic crime was of particular concern to her: "The saddest crimes for me were the ones that my own people committed against each other."[7] In general, she showed a passion for bringing law and order to the streets of New York, displaying special zeal in pursuing child pornography cases, unusual for the time.[28] She worked 15-hour days and gained a reputation for being driven and for her preparedness and fairness.[21][55][60] One of her job evaluations labelled her a "potential superstar".[58] Morgenthau later described her as "smart, hard-working, [and having] a lot of common sense,"[61] and as a "fearless and effective prosecutor."[30] She stayed a typical length of time in the post[54] and had a common reaction to the job: "After a while, you forget there are decent, law-abiding people in life."[62]

She and Noonan divorced amicably in 1983;[58] they did not have children.[19] She has said that the pressures of her working life were a contributing factor, but not the major factor, in the breakup.[60][63]

From 1983 to 1986, Sotomayor had an informal solo practice, dubbed Sotomayor & Associates, located in her Brooklyn apartment.[64] She performed legal consulting work, often for friends or family members.[64]

In 1984, she entered private practice, joining the commercial litigation practice group of Pavia & Harcourt in Manhattan as an associate.[7][65] One of 30 attorneys in the law firm,[65] she specialized in intellectual property litigation, international law, and arbitration.[7][30][66][67] She later said, "I wanted to complete myself as an attorney."[21] Although she had no civil litigation experience, the firm recruited her heavily, and she learned quickly on the job.[65] She was eager to try cases and argue in court, rather than be part of a larger law firm.[65] Her clients were mostly international corporations doing business in the United States;[28] much of her time was spent tracking down and suing counterfeiters of Fendi goods.[11][65] In some cases Sotomayor went on-site with the police to Harlem or Chinatown to have illegitimate merchandise seized, in the latter instance pursuing a fleeing culprit while riding on a motorcycle.[11][65] She said at the time that Pavia & Harcourt's efforts were run "much like a drug operation", and the successful rounding up of thousands of counterfeit accessories in 1986 was celebrated by "Fendi Crush", a destruction-by-garbage-truck event at Tavern on the Green.[68] At other times she dealt with dry legal issues such as grain export contract disputes.[65] In a 1986 appearance on Good Morning America that profiled women ten years after college graduation, she said that the bulk of law work was drudgery, and that while she was content with her life she had expected greater things of herself coming out of college.[63] In 1988 she became a partner at the firm;[34][53] she was paid well but not extravagantly.[69] She left in 1992 when she became a judge.[8]

In addition to her law firm work, Sotomayor found visible public service roles.[70] She was not connected to the party bosses that typically picked people for such jobs in New York, and indeed she was registered as an independent.[70] Instead, District Attorney Morgenthau, an influential figure, served as her patron.[61][70] In 1987, Governor of New York Mario Cuomo appointed Sotomayor to the board of the State of New York Mortgage Agency, which she served on until 1992.[71] As part of one of the largest urban rebuilding efforts in American history,[71] the agency helped low-income people get home mortgages and to provide insurance coverage for housing and AIDS hospices.[7] Despite being the youngest member of a board composed of strong personalities, she involved herself in the details of the operation and was effective.[61][70] She was vocal in supporting the right to affordable housing, directing more funds to lower-income home owners, and in her skepticism about the effects of gentrification, although in the end she voted in favor of most of the projects.[70][71]

Sotomayor was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch in 1988 as one of the founding members of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, where she served for four years.[7][72] There she took a vigorous role[70] in the board's implementation of a voluntary scheme wherein local candidates received public matching funds in exchange for limits on contributions and spending and agreeing to greater financial disclosure.[73] Sotomayor showed no patience with candidates who failed to follow regulations and was more of a stickler for making campaigns follow those regulations than some of the other board members.[61][70] She joined in rulings that fined, audited, or reprimanded the mayoral campaigns of Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudy Giuliani.[70]

Based upon another recommendation from Cabranes,[61] Sotomayor was a member of the board of directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1980 to 1992.[74] There she was a top policy maker[7] who actively worked with the organization's lawyers on issues such as New York City hiring practices, police brutality, the death penalty, and voting rights.[74] The group achieved its most visible triumph when it successfully blocked a city primary election on the grounds that New York City Council boundaries diminished the power of minority voters.[74]

During 1985 and 1986, Sotomayor served on the board of the Maternity Center Association, a Manhattan-based non-profit group which focused on improving the quality of maternity care.[75][76][77]

Federal district judge

Nomination and confirmation

Sotomayor had wanted to become a judge since she was in elementary school, and in 1991 she was recommended for a spot by Democratic New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.[7] Moynihan had an arrangement with his fellow New York senator, Republican Al D'Amato, whereby he would get to choose roughly one out of every four New York district court seats even though a Republican was in the White House.[48][78][79] Moynihan also wanted to fulfill a public promise he had made to get a Hispanic judge appointed for New York.[19] When Moynihan's staff recommended her to him, they said "Have we got a judge for you!"[7] Moynihan identified with her socio-economic and academic background and became convinced she would become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.[11][70] D'Amato became an enthusiastic backer of Sotomayor,[80] who was seen as politically centrist at the time.[7][19] Of the impending drop in salary from private practice, Sotomayor said: "I've never wanted to get adjusted to my income because I knew I wanted to go back to public service. And in comparison to what my mother earns and how I was raised, it's not modest at all."[7]

Sotomayor was thus nominated on November 27, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by John M. Walker, Jr.[5] Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, led by a friendly Democratic majority, went smoothly for her in June 1992, with her pro bono activities winning praise from Senator Ted Kennedy and her getting unanimous approval from the committee.[7][80][81] Then a Republican senator blocked her nomination and that of three others for a while in retaliation for an unrelated block Democrats had put on another nominee.[80][82] D'Amato objected strongly;[82] some weeks later, the block was dropped, and Sotomayor was confirmed by unanimous consent[56][80] of the full United States Senate on August 11, 1992, and received her commission the next day.[5]

Sotomayor became the youngest judge in the Southern District[83] and the first Hispanic federal judge in New York State.[84] She became the first Puerto Rican woman to serve as a judge in a U.S. federal court.[85] She was one of seven women among the district's 58 judges.[7] She moved from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, back to the Bronx in order to live within her district.[7]

Judgeship

Sotomayor generally kept a low public profile as a district court judge.[21] She showed a willingness to take anti-government positions in a number of cases, and during her first year in the seat, she received high ratings from liberal public-interest groups.[19] Other sources and organizations regarded her as a centrist during this period.[7][19] In criminal cases, she gained a reputation for tough sentencing and was not viewed as a pro-defense judge.[86] A Syracuse University study found that in such cases, Sotomayor generally handed out longer sentences than her colleagues, especially when white-collar crime was involved.[87] Fellow district judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum was an influence on Sotomayor in adopting a narrow, "just the facts" approach to judicial decision-making.[52]

As a trial judge, she garnered a reputation for being well-prepared in advance of a case and moving cases along a tight schedule.[19] Lawyers before her court viewed her as plain-spoken, intelligent, demanding, and sometimes somewhat unforgiving; one said, "She does not have much patience for people trying to snow her. You can't do it."[19]

Notable rulings

On March 30, 1995, in Silverman v. Major League Baseball Player Relations Committee, Inc.,[88] Sotomayor issued a preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball, preventing it from unilaterally implementing a new collective bargaining agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling ended the 1994 baseball strike after 232 days, the day before the new season was scheduled to begin. The Second Circuit upheld Sotomayor's decision and denied the owners' request to stay the ruling.[21][89][90] The decision raised her profile,[11] won her the plaudits of baseball fans,[21] and had a lasting effect on the game.[91]

In Dow Jones v. Department of Justice (1995),[92] Sotomayor sided with the Wall Street Journal in its efforts to obtain and publish a photocopy of the last note left by former Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster. Sotomayor ruled that the public had "a substantial interest"[93] in viewing the note and enjoined the U.S. Justice Department from blocking its release.

In New York Times Co. v. Tasini (1997), freelance journalists sued the New York Times Company for copyright infringement for the New York Times' inclusion in an electronic archival database (LexisNexis) of the work of freelancers it had published. Sotomayor ruled that the publisher had the right to license the freelancer's work. This decision was reversed on appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the reversal; two dissenters (John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer) took Sotomayor's position.[94]

In Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group (also in 1997), Sotomayor ruled that a book of trivia from the television program Seinfeld infringed on the copyright of the show's producer and did not constitute legal fair use. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Sotomayor's ruling.

Court of Appeals judge

Nomination and confirmation

Judge Sonia Sotomayor with her godson at the United States Court of Appeals signing ceremony in 1998

On June 25, 1997, Sotomayor was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which was vacated by J. Daniel Mahoney.[5] Her nomination was initially expected to have smooth sailing,[21][95] with the American Bar Association giving her a "well qualified" professional assessment,[96] but as The New York Times described, "[it became] embroiled in the sometimes tortured judicial politics of the Senate."[97] Some in the Republican majority believed Clinton was eager to name the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice and that an easy confirmation to the appeals court would put Sotomayor in a better position for a possible Supreme Court nomination (despite there being no vacancy at the time nor any indication the Clinton administration was considering nominating her or any Hispanic), and therefore they decided to slow her confirmation.[16][95][97] Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh weighed in that Sotomayor was an ultraliberal who was on a "rocket ship" to the highest court.[95]

During her September 1997 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sotomayor parried strong questioning from some Republican members about mandatory sentencing, gay rights, and her level of respect for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.[81] After a long wait, she was approved by the committee in March 1998, with only two dissensions.[81][95] However, in June 1998, the influential Wall Street Journal editorial page opined that the Clinton administration intended to “get her on to the Second Circuit, then elevate her to the Supreme Court as soon as an opening occurs”; the editorial criticized two of her district court rulings and urged further delay of her confirmation.[98] The Republican block continued.[21][95]

Ranking Democratic committee member Patrick Leahy objected to Republican use of a secret hold to slow down the Sotomayor nomination, and Leahy attributed that anonymous tactic to GOP reticence about publicly opposing a female Hispanic nominee.[95][99] The prior month, Leahy had triggered a procedural delay in the confirmation of fellow Second Circuit nominee Chester J. Straub—who, although advanced by Clinton and supported by Senator Moynihan, was considered much more acceptable by Republicans—in an unsuccessful effort to force earlier consideration of the Sotomayor confirmation.[100]

During 1998, several Hispanic organizations organized a petition drive in New York State, generating hundreds of signatures from New Yorkers to try to convince New York Republican senator Al D'Amato to push the Senate leadership to bring Sotomayor's nomination to a vote.[101] D'Amato, a backer of Sotomayor to begin with and additionally concerned about being up for re-election that year,[101] helped move Republican leadership.[11] Her nomination had been pending for over a year when Majority Leader Trent Lott scheduled the vote.[97] With complete Democratic support, and support from 25 Republican senators including Judiciary chair Orrin Hatch,[97] Sotomayor was confirmed on October 2, 1998, by a 67–29 vote.[102] She received her commission on October 7.[5] The confirmation experience left Sotomayor somewhat angry; she said shortly afterwards that during the hearings Republicans had assumed her political beliefs based on her being a Latina: "That series of questions, I think, were symbolic of a set of expectations that some people had [that] I must be liberal. It is stereotyping, and stereotyping is perhaps the most insidious of all problems in our society today."[21]

Judgeship

Over her ten years on the Second Circuit, Sotomayor heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and wrote about 380 opinions where she was in the majority.[11] The Supreme Court reviewed five of those, reversing three and affirming two[11]—not high numbers for an appellate judge of that many years[16] and a typical percentage of reversals.[103]

Sotomayor's circuit court rulings led to her being considered a political centrist by the ABA Journal[67][104] and other sources and organizations.[67][83][104][105][106][107] Several lawyers, legal experts, and news organizations identified her as someone with liberal inclinations.[108][109][110] In any case, the Second Circuit's caseload typically skewed more toward business and securities law rather than hot-button social or constitutional issues.[16] Sotomayor tended to write narrow rulings that relied on close application of the law rather than import general philosophical viewpoints.[16] A Congressional Research Service analysis found that Sotomayor's rulings defied easy ideological categorization, but did show an adherence to precedent, an emphasis on the facts of a case, and an avoidance of overstepping the circuit court's judicial role.[111] Unusually, Sotomayor read through all the supporting documents of cases under review; her lengthy rulings explored every aspect of a case and tended to feature leaden, ungainly prose.[112] Some legal experts have said that the attention to detail and re-examining of facts of a case in her rulings came close to overstepping the traditional role of appellate judges.[113]

Across some 150 cases involving business and civil law, Sotomayor's rulings were generally unpredictable and not consistently pro-business or anti-business.[114] Sotomayor's influence in the federal judiciary, as measured by the number of citations of her rulings by other judges and in law review articles, increased significantly during the length of her appellate judgeship and was greater than that of some other prominent federal appeals court judges.[115] Two academic studies showed that the percentage of Sotomayor's decisions that overrode policy decisions by elected branches was the same as or lower than that of other circuit judges.[116]

Sotomayor was a member of the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.[94] In October 2001, she presented the annual Judge Mario G. Olmos Memorial Lecture at UC Berkeley School of Law;[14] titled "A Latina Judge's Voice"; it was published in the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal the following spring.[117][118] In the speech, she discussed the characteristics of her Latina upbringing and culture and the history of minorities and women ascending to the federal bench.[119] She said the low number of minority women on the federal bench at that time was "shocking".[37] She then discussed at length how her own experiences as a Latina might affect her decisions as a judge.[119] In any case, her background in activism did not necessarily influence her rulings: in a study of 50 racial discrimination cases brought before her panel, 45 were rejected, with Sotomayor never filing a dissent.[37] An expanded study showed that Sotomayor decided 97 cases involving a claim of discrimination and rejected those claims nearly 90 percent of the time.[120] Another examination of Second Circuit split decisions on cases that dealt with race and discrimination showed no clear ideological pattern in Sotomayor's opinions.[121]

In the Court of Appeals seat, Sotomayor gained a reputation for vigorous and blunt behavior toward lawyers appealing before her, sometimes to the point of brusque and curt treatment or testy interruptions.[11][122] She was known for extensive preparation for oral arguments and for running a "hot bench", where judges ask lawyers plenty of questions.[122][123] Unprepared lawyers suffered the consequences, but the vigorous questioning was an aid to lawyers seeking to tailor their arguments to the judge's concerns.[123] The 2009 Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, which collected anonymous evaluations of judges by lawyers who appear before them, contained a wide range of reactions to Sotomayor.[11] Comments also diverged among lawyers willing to be named. Attorney Sheema Chaudhry said, “She’s brilliant and she’s qualified, but I just feel that she can be very, how do you say, temperamental.”[122] Defense lawyer Gerald B. Lefcourt said, “She used her questioning to make a point, as opposed to really looking for an answer to a question she did not understand.”[122] In contrast, Second Circuit Judge Richard C. Wesley said that his interactions with Sotomayor had been “totally antithetical to this perception that has gotten some traction that she is somehow confrontational.”[122] Second Circuit Judge and former teacher Guido Calabresi said his tracking showed that Sotomayor's questioning patterns were no different from other members of the court and added, “Some lawyers just don’t like to be questioned by a woman. [The criticism] was sexist, plain and simple.”[122] Sotomayor's law clerks regarded her as a valuable and strong mentor, and she said that she viewed them like family.[124]

In 2005, Senate Democrats suggested Sotomayor, among others, to President George W. Bush as an acceptable nominee to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.[125]

Notable rulings

Abortion

In the 2002 decision Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush,[126] Sotomayor upheld the Bush administration's implementation of the Mexico City Policy, which states that "the United States will no longer contribute to separate nongovernmental organizations which perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations."[127] Sotomayor held that the policy did not constitute a violation of equal protection, as "the government is free to favor the anti-abortion position over the pro-choice position, and can do so with public funds."[126]

First Amendment rights

In Pappas v. Giuliani (2002),[128] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ ruling that the New York Police Department could terminate an employee from his desk job who sent racist materials through the mail. Sotomayor argued that the First Amendment protected speech by the employee “away from the office, on [his] own time,” even if that speech was "offensive, hateful, and insulting," and that therefore the employee's First Amendment claim should have gone to trial rather than being dismissed on summary judgment.[129]

In 2005, Judge Sotomayor wrote the opinion for United States v. Quattrone.[130] Frank Quattrone had been on trial on charges of obstructing investigations related to technology IPOs. Some members of the media had wanted to publish the names of the jurors deciding Quattrone's case, and a district court had issued an order to forbid the publication of the juror's names. In United States v. Quattrone, Judge Sotomayor wrote the opinion for the Second Circuit panel striking down this order on First Amendment grounds, stating that the media should be free to publish the names of the jurors. The first trial ended in a deadlocked jury and a mistrial, and the district court ordered the media not to publish the names of jurors, even though those names had been disclosed in open court. Judge Sotomayor held that although it was important to protect the fairness of the retrial, the district court's order was an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech and violated the right of the press to "to report freely on events that transpire in an open courtroom."[130]

In 2008, Sotomayor was on a three-judge panel in Doninger v. Niehoff[131] that unanimously affirmed, in an opinion written by Second Circuit Judge Debra Livingston, the district court's judgment that Lewis S. Mills High School did not violate the First Amendment rights of a student when it barred her from running for student government after she called the superintendent and other school officials "douchebags" in a blog post written while off-campus that encouraged students to call an administrator and "piss her off more".[131] Judge Livingston held that the district judge did not abuse her discretion in holding that the student's speech "foreseeably create[d] a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment",[132] which is the precedent in the Second Circuit for when schools may regulate off-campus speech.[131] Although Sotomayor did not write this opinion, she has been criticized by some who disagree with it.[133]

Second Amendment rights

Sotomayor was part of the three-judge Second Circuit panel that affirmed the district court's ruling in Maloney v. Cuomo (2009).[134] Maloney was arrested for possession of nunchaku, which are illegal in New York; Maloney argued that this law violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Second Circuit's per curiam opinion noted that the Supreme Court has not, so far, ever held that the Second Amendment is binding against state governments. On the contrary, in Presser v. Illinois, a Supreme Court case from 1886, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment "is a limitation only upon the power of Congress and the national government, and not upon that of the state."[134] With respect to the Presser v. Illinois precedent, the panel stated that only the Supreme Court has "the prerogative of overruling its own decisions,"[135] and the recent Supreme Court case of District of Columbia v. Heller (which struck down the district's gun ban as unconstitutional) did "not invalidate this longstanding principle."[134] The panel upheld the lower court's decision dismissing Maloney's challenge to New York's law against possession of nunchaku.[136] On June 2, 2009, a Seventh Circuit panel, including the prominent and heavily cited judges Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook, unanimously agreed with Maloney v. Cuomo, citing the case in their decision turning back a challenge to Chicago's gun laws and noting the Supreme Court precedents remain in force until altered by the Supreme Court itself.[135]

Fourth Amendment rights

In N.G. & S.G. ex rel. S.C. v. Connecticut (2004),[137] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ decision to uphold a series of strip searches of “troubled adolescent girls” in juvenile detention centers. While Sotomayor agreed that some of the strip searches at issue in the case were lawful, she would have held that due to “the severely intrusive nature of strip searches,”[137] they should not be allowed “in the absence of individualized suspicion, of adolescents who have never been charged with a crime.”[137] She argued that an "individualized suspicion" rule was more consistent with Second Circuit precedent than the majority's rule.[137]

In Leventhal v. Knapek (2001),[138] Sotomayor rejected a Fourth Amendment challenge by a U.S. Department of Transportation employee whose employer searched his office computer. She held that, “Even though [the employee] had some expectation of privacy in the contents of his office computer, the investigatory searches by the DOT did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights”[138] because here “there were reasonable grounds to believe” that the search would reveal evidence of “work-related misconduct.”[138]

Alcohol in commerce

In 2004, Sotomayor was part of the judge panel that ruled in Swedenburg v. Kelly that New York's law prohibiting out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to consumers in New York was constitutional even though in-state wineries were allowed to. The case, which invoked the 21st Amendment, was appealed and attached to another case. The case reached the Supreme Court later on as Swedenburg v. Kelly and was overruled in a 5–4 decision that found the law was discriminatory and unconstitutional.[139]

Employment discrimination

Sotomayor was involved in the high-profile case Ricci v. DeStefano that initially upheld the right of the City of New Haven to throw out its test for firefighters and start over with a new test, because the City believed the test had a "disparate impact"[140] on minority firefighters. (No black firefighters qualified for promotion under the test, whereas some had qualified under tests used in previous years.) The City was concerned that minority firefighters might sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The City chose not to certify the test results and a lower court had previously upheld the City's right to do this. Several white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter who had passed the test, including the lead plaintiff who has dyslexia and had put much extra effort into studying, sued the City of New Haven, claiming that their rights were violated. A Second Circuit panel that included Sotomayor first issued a brief, unsigned summary order (not written by Sotomayor) affirming the lower court's ruling.[141] Sotomayor's former mentor José A. Cabranes, by now a fellow judge on the court, objected to this handling and requested that the court hear it en banc.[142] Sotomayor voted with a 7–6 majority not to rehear it and a slightly expanded ruling was issued, but a strong dissent by Cabranes led to the case reaching the Supreme Court in 2009.[142] There it was overruled in a 5–4 decision that found the white firefighters had been victims of racial discrimination when they were denied promotion.[143]

Business

In Clarett v. National Football League (2004),[144] Sotomayor upheld the National Football League's eligibility rules requiring players to wait three full seasons after high school graduation before entering the NFL draft. Maurice Clarett challenged these rules, which were part of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players, on antitrust grounds. Sotomayor held that Clarett's claim would upset the established "federal labor law favoring and governing the collective bargaining process."[145]

In Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dabit (2005),[146] Sotomayor wrote a unanimous opinion that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 did not preempt class action claims in state courts by stockbrokers alleging misleading inducement to buy or sell stocks.[103] The Supreme Court handed down an 8–0 decision stating that the Act did preempt such claims, thereby overruling Sotomayor's decision.[103]

In Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp. (2001),[147] she ruled that the license agreement of Netscape's Smart Download software did not constitute a binding contract because the system didn't give "sufficient notice" to the user.[148]

Civil rights

In Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko (2000),[149] Sotomayor, writing for the court, supported the right of an individual to sue a private corporation working on behalf of the federal government for alleged violations of that individual's constitutional rights. Reversing a lower court decision, Sotomayor found that an existing Supreme Court doctrine, known as "Bivens"—which allows suits against individuals working for the federal government for constitutional rights violations—could be applied to the case of a former prisoner seeking to sue the private company operating the federal halfway house facility in which he resided. The Supreme Court reversed Sotomayor's ruling in a 5–4 decision, saying that the Bivens doctrine could not be expanded to cover private entities working on behalf of the federal government. Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented, siding with Sotomayor's original ruling.

In Gant v. Wallingford Board of Education (1999),[150] the parents of a black student alleged that he had been harassed due to his race and had been discriminated against when he was transferred from a first grade class to a kindergarten class without parental consent, while similarly situated white students were treated differently. Sotomayor agreed with the dismissal of the harassment claims due to lack of evidence, but would have allowed the discrimination claim to go forward. She wrote in dissent that the grade transfer was "contrary to the school's established policies" as well as its treatment of white students, which "supports the inference that race discrimination played a role".

Property rights

In Krimstock v. Kelly (2002),[151] Sotomayor wrote an opinion halting New York City's practice of seizing the motor vehicles of drivers accused of driving while intoxicated and some other crimes and holding those vehicles for "months or even years" during criminal proceedings. Noting the importance of cars to many individuals' livelihoods or daily activities, she held that it violated individuals' due process rights to hold the vehicles without permitting the owners to challenge the City's continued possession of their property.

In Brody v. Village of Port Chester (2003 and 2005),[152] a takings case, Sotomayor first ruled in 2003 for a unanimous panel that a property owner in Port Chester, New York was permitted to challenge the state’s Eminent Domain Procedure Law. A district court subsequently rejected the plaintiff's claims and upon appeal the case found itself again with the Second Circuit. In 2005, Sotomayor ruled with a panel majority that the property owner's due process rights had been violated by lack of adequate notice to him of his right to challenge a village order that his land should be used for a redevelopment project. However, the panel supported the village's taking of the property for public use.[153]

In Didden v. Village of Port Chester (2006),[154] an unrelated case brought about by the same town's actions, Sotomayor joined a unanimous panel's summary order to uphold a trial court's dismissal – due to a statute of limitations lapse – of a property owner's objection to his land being condemned for a redevelopment project. The ruling further said that even without the lapse, the owner's petition would be denied due to application of the Supreme Court's recent Kelo v. City of New London ruling. The Second Circuit's reasoning drew criticism from libertarian commentators.[155][156]

Supreme Court justice

Nomination and confirmation

President Barack Obama meets with Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Vice President Joseph Biden prior to an announcement in the East Room, May 26, 2009

Since President Barack Obama's election there had been speculation that Sotomayor could be a leading candidate for a Supreme Court seat.[67][104][105][157][158] New York senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a joint letter to Obama urging him to appoint Sotomayor, or alternatively Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to the Supreme Court if a vacancy should arise during his term.[159] The White House first contacted Sotomayor on April 27, 2009, about the possibility of her nomination.[160] On April 30, 2009, Justice David Souter's retirement plans leaked to the media, and Sotomayor received early attention as a possible nominee for Souter's seat to be vacated in June 2009.[161] On May 25, Obama informed Sotomayor of his choice; she later said, "I had my [hand] over my chest, trying to calm my beating heart, literally."[162] On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated her.[163] She became only the second jurist to be nominated to three different judicial positions by three different presidents.[164]

Sotomayor's nomination won praise from Democrats and liberals, and Democrats appeared to have sufficient votes to confirm her.[165] The strongest criticism of her nomination came from conservatives and some Republican senators regarding a line she had used in some form in a number of her speeches, particularly in a 2001 Berkeley Law lecture:[119][165] "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."[14] Sotomayor had made similar remarks in other speeches between 1994 and 2003, including one she submitted as part of her confirmation questionnaire for the Court of Appeals in 1998, but they had attracted little attention.[166][167] The rhetoric quickly became inflamed, with radio commentator Rush Limbaugh and former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich calling Sotomayor a "racist" (although the latter later backtracked from that claim),[168] while John Cornyn and other Republican senators denounced such attacks but said that Sotomayor's approach was troubling.[169][170] Backers of Sotomayor offered a variety of explanations in defense of the remark,[171] and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stated that Sotomayor's word choice in 2001 had been "poor".[169] Sotomayor subsequently clarified her remark through Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy, saying that while life experience shapes who one is, "ultimately and completely" a judge follows the law regardless of personal background.[172] Of her cases, the Second Circuit rulings in Ricci v. DeStefano received the most attention during the early nomination discussion,[173] and in the midst of her confirmation process the Supreme Court overturned that ruling on June 29.[143] Some of the fervor with which conservatives and Republicans viewed the Sotomayor nomination was due to their grievances over the history of federal judicial nomination battles going back to the 1987 Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination.[174]

A Gallup poll released a week after the nomination showed 54 percent of Americans in favor of Sotomayor's confirmation compared with 28 percent in opposition.[175] A June 12 Fox News poll showed 58 percent of the public disagreeing with her "wise Latina" remark but 67 percent saying the remark should not disqualify her from serving on the Supreme Court.[176] The American Bar Association gave her a unanimous "well qualified" assessment, its highest mark for professional qualification.[96] Following the Ricci overruling, Rasmussen Reports and CNN/Opinion Research polls showed that the public was now sharply divided, largely along partisan and ideological lines, as to whether Sotomayor should be confirmed.[177][178]

Sotomayor before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first day of hearings on July 13, 2009

Sotomayor's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began on July 13, 2009, during which she backed away from her "wise Latina" remark, declaring it "a rhetorical flourish that fell flat" and stating that "I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judgment."[179][180] When Republican senators confronted her regarding other remarks from her past speeches, she pointed to her judicial record and said she had never let her own life experiences or opinions influence her decisions.[181] Republican senators said that while her rulings to this point might be largely traditional, they feared her Supreme Court rulings – where there is more latitude with respect to precedent and interpretation – might be more reflective of her speeches.[182][183] Sotomayor defended her position in Ricci as following applicable precedent.[179] When asked whom she admired, she pointed to Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo.[184] In general, Sotomayor followed the hearings formula of recent past nominees by avoiding stating personal positions, declining to take positions on controversial issues likely to come before the Court, agreeing with senators from both parties, and repeatedly affirming that as a justice she would just apply the law.[185] On July 28, 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sotomayor's nomination; the 13–6 vote was almost entirely along party lines, with no Democrats opposing her and only one Republican supporting her.[186] On August 6, 2009, Sotomayor was confirmed by the full Senate by a vote of 68–31.[187] The vote was largely along party lines, with no Democrats opposing her and nine Republicans supporting her.[188] (A year later, Obama's second court pick, Elena Kagan, won confirmation by a 63–37 vote.[189])

President Obama commissioned Sotomayor on the day of her confirmation;[190] Sotomayor was sworn in on August 8, 2009, by Chief Justice John Roberts.[191] Sotomayor is the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court.[187][188][192] (Some attention has been given to Justice Benjamin Cardozo – a Sephardic Jew believed to be of distant Portuguese descent – as the first Hispanic on the court when appointed in 1932, but his roots were uncertain, the term "Hispanic" was not in use as an ethnic identifier at the time, and the Portuguese are generally excluded from its meaning.[193][194][195]) Sotomayor is also the third woman to serve on the Court, following Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her appointment gives the Court a record six Roman Catholic justices serving at the same time.[29]

Justiceship

Sotomayor cast her first vote as an associate Supreme Court justice on August 17, 2009, in a stay of execution case.[196] She was given a warm welcome onto the Court[197] and was formally invested in a September 8 ceremony.[198] Sotomayor heard arguments in her first case on September 9 during a special session. The case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, involved the First Amendment rights of corporations in campaign finance[199] and became one of the most controversial and consequential decisions in a number of years, and one in which Sotomayor dissented.[200][201] Her first major written opinion was a dissent in the Berghuis v. Thompkins case dealing with Miranda rights.[200][202]

As her first year neared completion, Sotomayor said it had been exciting, challenging and a little scary;[203] she told friends she felt swamped by the intensity and heavy workload of the job.[202] In succeeding Justice Souter, Sotomayor had done little to change the philosophical balance of the Court, as she was a reliable member of the liberal bloc when the justices divided along the commonly perceived ideological lines.[200][201][202] Sotomayor voted with Justices Ginsburg and Breyer 90 percent of the time, one of the highest agreement rates on the Court.[200][204]

Other activities

Sotomayor with her nephews at Yankee Stadium in 2007

Sotomayor was an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law from 1998 to 2007.[205] There she taught trial and appellate advocacy as well as a federal appellate court seminar.[205] She has been a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School since 1999, a paying, adjunct faculty position.[76][206] There she created and has co-taught a class called the Federal Appellate Externship every semester since 2000; it combines classroom, moot court, and Second Circuit chambers work.[206] She became a member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University in 2006.[43] In 2008, Sotomayor became a member of the Belizean Grove, an invitation-only women's group modeled after the men's Bohemian Grove.[207] On June 19, 2009, Sotomayor resigned from the Belizean Grove after Republican politicians voiced concerns over the group's membership policy.[208]

Sotomayor has maintained a public presence since joining the federal judiciary.[209] She has given over 180 speeches since 1993, about half of which either focused on issues of ethnicity or gender or were delivered to minority or women's groups.[209] Her speeches have tended to give a more defined picture of her worldview than her rulings on the bench.[160] The themes of her speeches have often focused on ethnic identity and experience, the need for diversity, and America's struggle with the implications of its diverse makeup.[160] She has also presented her career achievements as an example of the success of affirmative action policies in university admissions, saying "I am the perfect affirmative action baby" in regard to her belief that her admission test scores were not comparable to those of her classmates.[210][211]

Sotomayor lives in Greenwich Village in New York City and has few financial assets other than her home.[160] She lives in an expensive area, enjoys shopping and travelling and giving gifts, and helps support her mother and her mother's husband in Florida.[212] Regarding her short financial disclosure reports, she has said, "When you don't have money, it's easy. There isn't anything there to report."[124] As a federal judge, she is entitled to a pension equal to her full salary upon retirement.[212]

She continues to take daily insulin injections,[213] but her diabetes is considered to be well controlled.[214] Sotomayor does not belong to a Catholic parish or attend Mass, but does attend church for important occasions.[29] She maintains ties with Puerto Rico, visiting once or twice a year, speaking there occasionally, and visiting cousins and other relatives who still live in the Mayagüez area.[9][10][12] She has long stressed her ethnic identity, saying in 1996, "Although I am an American, love my country and could achieve its opportunity of succeeding at anything I worked for, I also have a Latina soul and heart, with the magic that carries."[22]

Sotomayor said of the years following her divorce, that "I have found it difficult to maintain a relationship while I've pursued my career."[60] She has talked of herself as "emotionally withdrawn" and lacking "genuine happiness" when living by herself; after becoming a judge, she said she would not date lawyers.[58] In 1997, she was engaged to New York construction contractor Peter White, but the relationship had ended by 2000.[8][58]

In July 2010, Sotomayor signed a contract with Alfred A. Knopf to publish a memoir about the early part of her life.[215]

Awards and honors

Sotomayor has received honorary law degrees from Lehman College (1999),[94] Princeton University (2001),[94] Brooklyn Law School (2001),[94] Pace University School of Law (2003),[216] Hofstra University (2006),[76], Northeastern University School of Law (2007),[217] Howard University (2010),[203] and St. Lawrence University (2010).[218]

She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2002.[219] She was given the Outstanding Latino Professional Award in 2006 by the Latino/a Law Students Association.[220]

Publications

Articles
Forewords
Speeches

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Members of the Supreme Court of the United States". Supreme Court of the United States. http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members.aspx. Retrieved April 26, 2010.  Her commission date was August 6, per the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges at the Federal Judicial Center site, but the Supreme Court site states: "The date a Member of the Court took his/her Judicial oath (the Judiciary Act provided 'That the Justices of the Supreme Court, and the district judges, before they proceed to execute the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath ...') is here used as the date of the beginning of his/her service, for until that oath is taken he/she is not vested with the prerogatives of the office."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Paulson, Michael (May 26, 2009). "Sotomayor would be sixth Catholic justice". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/05/sotomayor_would.html. Retrieved May 26, 2009. 
  3. ↑ Audio file of Sotomayor's pronunciation of her name. For an English adaptation, see inogolo: pronunciation of Sonia Sotomayor.
  4. ↑ Sotomayor had the middle name Maria at birth, but may have stopped using it later in life. See Princeton yearbook image and answer to question 1 in her 2009 Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire response.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Judge of the United States Courts – Sotomayor, Sonia". Federal Judicial Center. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2243. Retrieved May 26, 2009. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Shane, Scott and Fernandez, Mandy (May 27, 2009). "A Judge’s Own Story Highlights Her Mother’s". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/us/politics/28mother.html. Retrieved May 29, 2009. 
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 Hoffman, Jan (September 25, 1992). "A Breakthrough Judge: What She Always Wanted". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D8173AF936A1575AC0A964958260. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 "Judge Sonia Sotomayor bio". WABC-TV. May 27, 2009. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/politics&id=6831739. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Coto, Danica (May 26, 2009). "Sotomayor Maintains Puerto Rican Roots". Associated Press. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=7682108. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cave, Damien (May 29, 2009). "In Puerto Rico, Supreme Court Pick With Island Roots Becomes a Superstar". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/us/politics/30puerto.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (May 26, 2009). "Woman in the News: Sotomayor, a Trailblazer and a Dreamer". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27websotomayor.html. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Grinberg, Emanuella (July 13, 2009). "Family hails Sonia Sotomayor's Puerto Rican roots". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/13/sotomayor.roots/index.html. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  13. ↑ Rahme, Dave (May 26, 2009). "Supreme Court nominee's brother hails from Syracuse suburb of Clay". The Post-Standard. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/pablo_martinez_monsivais_appre.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "A Latina judge's voice". UC Berkeley School of Law. October 26, 2001. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/05/26_sotomayor.shtml. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Shulman, Robin (June 16, 2009). "Supreme Change". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061503170.html. Retrieved June 17, 2009. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Lacayo, Richard (May 28, 2009). "Sonia Sotomayor: A Justice Like No Other". Time. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1901348,00.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  17. ↑ Alvarez, Lizette and Wilson, Michael (May 29, 2009). "Up and Out of New York’s Projects". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/nyregion/31projects.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  18. ↑ Davidson, Amy (May 27, 2009). "Close Read: A Motorcycle, a playground, and a justice". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2009/05/close-read-a-motorcycle-a-playground-and-a-justice.html. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 19.8 McKinley, James C. (April 1, 1995). "Woman in the News; Strike-Zone Arbitrator — Sonia Sotomayor". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D7163FF932A35757C0A963958260. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Shallwani, Pervaiz (May 27, 2009). "Resident in Sotomayor's old Bronx apartment feels pride". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nysoto0528,0,5236114.story. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  21. ↑ 21.00 21.01 21.02 21.03 21.04 21.05 21.06 21.07 21.08 21.09 21.10 21.11 Smith, Greg B. (October 24, 1998). "Judge's Journey to Top: Bronx' Sotomayor Rose From Projects to Court of Appeals". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1998/10/24/1998-10-24_judge_s_journey_to_top______.html. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Doyle, Michael (June 7, 2009). "Sotomayor has long stressed her ethnic identity". McClatchy Newspapers. The Miami Herald. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Burch, Audra D.S. (May 28, 2009). "Sonia Sotomayor's mom shares spotlight". The Miami Herald. 
  24. ↑ Silva, Mark (May 26, 2009). "Sonia Sotomayor is Obama's Supreme Court nominee". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sonia-sotomayor27-2009may27,0,2298518,full.story. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  25. ↑ Daly, Michael (May 28, 2009). "Dreams live on at Sotomayor's old school, Blessed Sacrament in the Bronx". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2009/05/28/2009-05-28_dreams_live_on_at_sotomayor_old_school.html. Retrieved May 28, 2009. 
  26. ↑ The White House (May 26, 2009). "The President’s Nominee: Judge Sonia Sotomayor". Press release. http://www.whitehouse.gov/Sotomayor/. Retrieved May 29, 2009. 
  27. ↑ Simon, Mallory (July 14, 2009). "Sotomayor was schoolgirl with focus, determination, friends say". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/14/sotomayor.childhood/index.html. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 28.7 Goldstein, Amy and Markon, Jerry (May 27, 2009). "Heritage Shapes Judge's Perspective". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/26/AR2009052600914.html. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 Goodstein, Laurie (May 30, 2009). "Sotomayor Would Be Sixth Catholic Justice, but the Pigeonholing Ends There". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/us/politics/31catholics.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Kuznia, Rob (May 26, 2009). "Hispanics Praise Selection of Sotomayor for Supreme Court; Republicans Wary". Hispanic Business. http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2009/5/26/hispanics_praise_selection_of_sotomayor_for.htm. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Kirkpatrick, David D. (May 29, 2009). "Sotomayor’s Focus on Race Issues May Be Hurdle". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/us/politics/30affirm.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Landau, Elizabeth (July 15, 2009). "Cricket, Ivy League classmates startled student Sonia Sotomayor". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/15/sotomayor.college/index.html. Retrieved July 15, 2009. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Ludden, Jennifer and Weeks, Linton (May 26, 2009). "Sotomayor: ‘Always Looking Over My Shoulder’". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104538436. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Smith, Jennifer (May 27, 2009). "Discipline, drive push Sotomayor from Bronx to bench". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nysoto2712805362may26,0,627895.story. Retrieved May 27, 2009. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Smith, Ben (May 29, 2009). "Princeton University holds the key to understanding Sonia Sotomayor". The Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/23074.html. Retrieved May 29, 2009. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Liemer, David (April 22, 1974). "Latin student groups assail university hiring performance". The Daily Princetonian. http://images.politico.com/global/news/090528_sotomayorarticle.jpg. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 37.5 37.6 37.7 Nicholas, Peter and Oliphant, James (May 30, 2009). "Two sides to Sonia Sotomayor". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sotomayor-profile31-2009may31,0,2464037.story. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Kantor, Jodi and Gonzalez, David (June 6, 2009). "For Sotomayor and Thomas, Paths Diverge at Race". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/us/politics/07affirm.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.4 Goldstein, Amy and MacGillis, Alex (June 1, 2009). "Sotomayor Was a Passionate but Civil Activist". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/31/AR2009053101935.html. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
  40. ↑ Sotomayor, Sonia (May 10, 1974). "Anti-Latino discrimination at Princeton". The Daily Princetonian. http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/05/15/23731/. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "Puerto Ricans Find Bias at Princeton" (fee required). The New York Times. April 23, 1974. http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F1081FFA38541B7588DDAA0A94DC405B848BF1D3. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Gilinsky, Adam (February 28, 1976). "Germany, Sotomayor receive 1976 Pyne Prize". The Daily Princetonian. http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/05/15/23735/. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Debenedetti, Gabriel (May 13, 2009). "At Princeton, Sotomayor ’76 excelled at academics, extracurriculars". The Daily Princetonian. http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/05/13/23695/. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  44. ↑ Taylor Jr., Stuart (June 2, 2009). "Grading Sotomayor's Senior Thesis". National Journal. http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/06/grading-sotomayors-senior-thes.php. Retrieved June 3, 2009. 
  45. ↑ "Princeton alumna Sonia Sotomayor nominated to the Supreme Court: Images". Princeton University. http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/s-z/sotomayor_sonia/. Retrieved May 29, 2009. 
  46. ↑ "ΦΒΚ Member Sonia Sotomayor Joins U.S. Supreme Court". The Key Reporter (Phi Beta Kappa): 5. Fall 2009. 
  47. ↑ Shapiro, Michael (May 5, 2009). "Sonia Sotomayor '76 is very smart". The Daily Princetonian. http://blogs.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/05/sonia-sotomayor-76-is-very-smart.html. Retrieved May 6, 2009. 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Lewis, Neil A. (May 14, 2009). "On a Supreme Court Prospect’s Résumé: ‘Baseball Savior’". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/15sotomayor.html. 
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Auerbach, Stuart (December 16, 1978). "Law Firm Apologizes to Yale Student" (fee required). The Washington Post. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/135638212.html?dids=135638212:135638212&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Dec+16%2C+1978&author=By+Stuart+Auerbach+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=D3&desc=Law+Firm+Apologizes+to+Yale+Student. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Miller, Zeke (May 31, 2009). "At Yale, Sotomayor was sharp but not outspoken". Yale Daily News. http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/29081. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 "Lawyer Sonia Sotomayor De Noonan". Justia.com. http://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/sonia-sotomayor-de-noonan-1136017. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 Kirkpatrick, David D. (June 21, 2009). "Judge’s Mentor: Part Guide, Part Foil". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/us/politics/22mentors.html. Retrieved June 23, 2009. 
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 "Commencement 2003: Sonia Sotomayor". Pace University. April 21, 2003. http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=7771. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Barzilay, Jonathan (November 27, 1983). "The D.A.'s Right Arms". The New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/27/magazine/the-da-s-right-arms.html. 
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 Weiser, Benjamin and Rashbaum, William K. (June 7, 2009). "Sotomayor Is Recalled as a Driven Rookie Prosecutor". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/us/politics/08prosecutor.html. Retrieved June 8, 2009. 
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 "A Small Whittling Down Of Federal Bench Vacancies". The New York Times. August 16, 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/16/nyregion/update-a-small-whittling-down-of-federal-bench-vacancies.html. 
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 O'Neill, Ann (July 16, 2009). "Sotomayor learned the ropes on 'Tarzan' case". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/16/sotomayor.district.attorney/index.html. Retrieved July 16, 2009. 
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 58.3 58.4 Powell, Michael, Kovaleski, Serge F., and Buettner, Russ (July 9, 2009). "To Get to Sotomayor’s Core, Start in New York". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/nyregion/10sonia.html. Retrieved July 10, 2009. 
  59. ↑ Temple-Raston, Dina (June 9, 2009). "Sotomayor's Real-World Schooling In Law And Order". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105005007. Retrieved June 11, 2009. 
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 "Sotomayor Gives Intimate Look Into Personal Life". Fox News. June 12, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/11/sotomayor-gives-intimate-look-personal-life/. Retrieved June 12, 2009. 
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 61.3 61.4 Zajac, Andrew (June 6, 2009). "Sotomayor was nudged into judgeship, associates say". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sotomayor6-2009jun06,0,110637.story. Retrieved June 7, 2009. 
  62. ↑ Farber, M.A. (June 17, 1985). "As He Seeks a 4th Term, Morgenthau Confronts First Sustained Criticism". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/17/nyregion/as-he-seeks-a-4th-term-morgenthau-confronts-first-sustained-criticism.html. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 Interview on 'Good Morning America'. Good Morning America via The New York Times. 1986. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/10/us/politics/1194840839411/interview-on-good-morning-america.html. Retrieved June 12, 2009. 
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  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.4 65.5 65.6 Sloan, Karen (May 27, 2009). "Nominee's civil practice was with a small, but specialized, firm" (registration required). The National Law Journal. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431011230&Nominees_civil_practice_was_with_a_small_but_specialized_firm&slreturn=1. Retrieved May 29, 2009. 
  66. ↑ "Sonia Sotomayor (ABA Profile, National Hispanic Heritage Month 2000)". http://www.abanet.org/publiced/hispanic_s.html. 
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 67.2 67.3 Carter, Terry; Stephanie Francis Ward (November 2008). "The Lawyers Who May Run America". ABA Journal. http://abajournal.com/magazine/the_lawyers_who_may_run_america_obama. Retrieved January 17, 2009. 
  68. ↑ Gross, Michael (November 11, 1986). "Notes on Fashion". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/11/style/notes-on-fashion.html. 
  69. ↑ Gross, Doug (July 17, 2009). "Sotomayor is tough judge with breadstick habit, colleagues say". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/17/sotomayor.bench/index.html. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 70.2 70.3 70.4 70.5 70.6 70.7 70.8 Powell, Michael and Kovaleski, Serge F. (June 4, 2009). "Sotomayor Rose on Merit Alone, Her Allies Say". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/us/politics/05judge.html. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 71.2 Savage, Charlie and Powell, Michael (June 18, 2009). "In New York, Sotomayor Put Focus on the Poor". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/us/19mortgage.html. Retrieved June 19, 2009. 
  72. ↑ "Board Members - New York City Campaign Finance Board". New York City Campaign Finance Board. 2008. http://www.nyccfb.info/press/info/board_members.htm?sm=press_04. Retrieved May 26, 2009. 
  73. ↑ Savage, Charlie (May 29, 2009). "A Long Record on Campaign Finance, Often in Support of Regulations". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/us/politics/30judge.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  74. ↑ 74.0 74.1 74.2 Hernandez, Raymond and Chen, David W. (May 28, 2009). "Nominee’s Links With Advocates Fuel Her Critics". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29puerto.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  75. ↑ Barnes, Robert and Shear, Michael D. (May 29, 2009). "Abortion Rights Backers Get Reassurances on Nominee". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803937_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009052803991. Retrieved May 29, 2009. 
  76. ↑ 76.0 76.1 76.2 "Circuit Judges' Biographical Information". U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/judgesbio.htm. Retrieved May 26, 2009. 
  77. ↑ "Past Profiles: Sonia Sotomayor". Almanac of the Federal Judiciary. Aspen Law & Business. 1997. p. 35. http://www.aspenpublishers.com/PDF/Sotomayor_Almanac_Past_Profiles.pdf. 
  78. ↑ York, Byron (May 26, 2009). "Why did George H.W. Bush pick Sotomayor for the courts?". The Washington Examiner. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Why-did-George-HW-Bush-pick-Sotomayor-for-the-courts-46094732.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  79. ↑ Francke-Ruta, Garance (May 27, 2009). "Sotomayor's District Court Bid Aided by D'Amato and Moynihan". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/05/27/sotomayors_district_court_bid.html?wprss=44. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
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  81. ↑ 81.0 81.1 81.2 MacGillis, Alec (May 28, 2009). "Rigorous Questioning Hasn't Fazed Nominee". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/27/AR2009052703707.html. Retrieved May 28, 2009. 
  82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 Lewis, Neil A. (July 14, 1992). "4 Women Delayed in Rise to Bench". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/14/us/4-women-delayed-in-rise-to-bench.html. 
  83. ↑ 83.0 83.1 "Times Topics: Sonia Sotomayor". The New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/sonia_sotomayor/index.html?inline=nyt-per. Retrieved May 1, 2009. 
  84. ↑ King, Wayne (March 2, 1991). "Hispanic Nominee for U.S. Bench". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DE173FF931A35750C0A967958260. 
  85. ↑ Ruíz, Vicki; Korrol, Virginia Sánchez (eds.) (2006). Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. p. 13. ISBN 0253346800. 
  86. ↑ Bravin, Jess and Koppel, Nathan (June 5, 2009). "Nominee's Criminal Rulings Tilt to Right of Souter". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124415867263187033.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009. 
  87. ↑ "Study: Sotomayor tough on white-collar criminals". Associated Press. USA Today. July 9, 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-07-09-sotomayor_N.htm. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 
  88. ↑ Silverman v. Major League Baseball Player Relations Committee, Inc., 880 F. Supp. 246 (S.D.N.Y. 1995).
  89. ↑ National Labor Relations Board v. Major League Baseball, 880 F. Supp. 246 (S.D. N.Y. 1995)
  90. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (May 26, 2009). "Sotomayor’s Baseball Ruling Lingers, 14 Years Later". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/sports/baseball/27sandomir.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  91. ↑ Dow Jones v. Department of Justice, 880 F. Supp. 145 (S.D.N.Y. 1995)
  92. ↑ "Sotomayor on the First Amendment". First Amendment Center. May 28, 2009. http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/analysis.aspx?id=21629. Retrieved June 2, 2009. 
  93. ↑ 94.0 94.1 94.2 94.3 94.4 94.5 94.6 "Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases". CNN.com. May 26, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/26/sotomayor.resume/?iref=hpmostpop. Retrieved May 26, 2009. 
  94. ↑ 95.0 95.1 95.2 95.3 95.4 95.5 Lewis, Neil A. (June 13, 1998). "G.O.P., Its Eyes On High Court, Blocks a Judge". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/13/nyregion/gop-its-eyes-on-high-court-blocks-a-judge.html. 
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  96. ↑ 97.0 97.1 97.2 97.3 Lewis, Neil A. (October 3, 1998). "After Delay, Senate Approves Judge for Court in New York". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E5D61338F930A35753C1A96E958260. 
  97. ↑ "The Souter Strategy". The Wall Street Journal. June 8, 1998. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB897248922671860000.html. 
  98. ↑ United States Senate: Patrick Leahy (March 3, 2003). "The Estrada Nomination: The Misquote Of Senator Patrick Leahy, On Filibusters". Press release. http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200303/030303a.html. Retrieved June 19, 2009. 
  99. ↑ Murray, Frank J. (May 29, 1998). "Leahy pushes in public, undermines in private". The Washington Times. p. A4. 
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  101. ↑ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 105th Congress - 2nd Session". United States Senate. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=105&session=2&vote=00295. 
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  104. ↑ 105.0 105.1 Shepard, Scott (November 24, 2008). "Speculation Already Under Way on Possible Obama Supreme Court Nominations". Cox News Service. 
  105. ↑ Biskupic, Joan (July 19, 2005). "The next president could tip high court". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-29-election-court-cover_x.htm. 
  106. ↑ McKinley, James (April 2, 1995). "Tough on the Bench: Judge who issued injunction against owners gets high marks by peers". Dallas Morning News. 
  107. ↑ Sherman, Mark; Yost, Pete (May 26, 2009). "Sotomayor: A liberal record – but not entirely so". Associated Press. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=7681616. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 
  108. ↑ Bravin, Jess (May 26, 2009). "Record Shows Rulings Within Liberal Mainstream". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124338260937756559.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. 
  109. ↑ Lacayo, Richard (May 26, 2009). "Inside the Moderately Liberal Mind of Sonia Sotomayor". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1901094,00.html?iid=tsmodule. 
  110. ↑ Henning, Anna C. and Thomas, Kenneth R. (June 19, 2009). "Judge Sonia Sotomayor: An Analysis of Selected Opinions". Congressional Research Service. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40649.pdf. Retrieved June 26, 2009. 
  111. ↑ Mauro, Tony (June 22, 2009). "Sotomayor, word by word". The National Law Journal. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431608804&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&pt=NLJ.com-%20Daily%20Headlines&cn=20090622NLJ&kw=Sotomayor%2C%20word%20by%20word&slreturn=1. Retrieved June 22, 2009. 
  112. ↑ Markon, Jerry (July 9, 2009). "Uncommon Detail Marks Rulings by Sotomayor". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/08/AR2009070804211.html. Retrieved July 10, 2009. 
  113. ↑ Schwartz, John (May 27, 2009). "Sotomayor’s Appellate Opinions Are Unpredictable, Lawyers and Scholars Say". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/us/politics/28circuit.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  114. ↑ "Assessing Sotomayor’s Influence". The New York Times. May 28, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/05/28/us/politics/0529-judge-graphic.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  115. ↑ Savage, Charlie (June 20, 2009). "Uncertain Evidence for ‘Activist’ Label on Sotomayor". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/us/politics/20judge.html. Retrieved June 20, 2009. 
  116. ↑ 117.0 117.1 "Lecture: ‘A Latina Judge’s Voice’". The New York Times. May 14, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/politics/15judge.text.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  117. ↑ The speech recapitulated many thoughts and exact phrases she had previously given before a 1994 panel on women in the judiciary. See Bendavid, Naftalie (June 4, 2009). "Sotomayor's Talk Made No Waves in '01". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124404932521081845.html. Retrieved June 3, 2009. 
  118. ↑ 119.0 119.1 119.2 "'Latina woman' remark may dominate Sotomayor hearings". CNN. May 28, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/28/sotomayor.latina.remark.reax/?iref=mpstoryview. Retrieved May 28, 2009. 
  119. ↑ Goldstein, Tom (May 29, 2009). "Judge Sotomayor and Race — Results from the Full Data Set". SCOTUSblog. http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/judge-sotomayor-and-race-results-from-the-full-data-set/. Retrieved June 3, 2009. 
  120. ↑ Markon, Jerry (June 7, 2009). "Judge's Votes Show No Single Ideology". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/06/AR2009060601966.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009. 
  121. ↑ 122.0 122.1 122.2 122.3 122.4 122.5 Becker, Jo and Liptak, Adam (May 28, 2009). "Sotomayor’s Blunt Style Raises Issue of Temperament". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29judge.html. Retrieved May 30, 2009. 
  122. ↑ 123.0 123.1 Neumeister, Larry (June 6, 2009). "Taking the measure of Sotomayor's courtroom manner". Associated Press. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=7772554. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 
  123. ↑ 124.0 124.1 Richburg, Keith B. (May 7, 2009). "N.Y. Federal Judge Likely on Shortlist". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/06/AR2009050603762.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  124. ↑ "Judiciary Panel Approves Roberts"]. Fox News. September 22, 2005. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170110,00.html. 
  125. ↑ 126.0 126.1 Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002)
  126. ↑ "The Mexico City Policy". Americans United for Life. http://www.aul.org/mexico_city_policy. Retrieved June 2, 2009. 
  127. ↑ Pappas v. Giuliani, 290 F.3d 143 (2d Cir. 2002).
  128. ↑ Benen, Steve (May 27, 2009). "Sotomayor: The Record". The Washington Monthly. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_05/018353.php. Retrieved June 2, 2009. 
  129. ↑ 130.0 130.1 United States v. Quattrone, 402 F.3d 304 (2d Cir. 2005).
  130. ↑ 131.0 131.1 131.2 Doninger v. Niehoff, Doninger v. Niehoff, 527 F.3d 41 (2d Cir. 2008).
  131. ↑ Doninger v. Niehoff, p. 15.
  132. ↑ Collins, Steve (May 28, 2009). "Sotomayor had key role in Doninger case". New Britain Herald. http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/05/28/news/doc4a1df5e55148d604572983.txt. 
  133. ↑ 134.0 134.1 134.2 Maloney v. Cuomo, 554 F.3d 56 (2d Cir. 2009)
  134. ↑ 135.0 135.1 Barnes, Robert (June 3, 2009). "Conservative Judges Echo Sotomayor in Gun Ruling". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/02/AR2009060203379.html. Retrieved June 4, 2009. 
  135. ↑ Goldstein, Tom (May 15, 2009). "Judge Sotomayor’s Appellate Opinions in Civil Cases". SCOTUSblog. http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/judge-sotomayors-appellate-opinions-in-civil-cases/. Retrieved 26 May 2009. 
  136. ↑ 137.0 137.1 137.2 137.3 N.G. & S.G. ex rel. S.C. v. Connecticut, 382 F.3d. 225 (2d Cir. 2004).
  137. ↑ 138.0 138.1 138.2 Leventhal v. Knapek, 266 F.3d 64 (2d Cir. 2001).
  138. ↑ Daley, Bill (May 28, 2009). "Sotomayor and wine: One pro's perspective". Chicago Tribune. http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2009/05/sotomayor-and-wine-one-pros-perspective.html. 
  139. ↑ Liptak, Adam (April 9, 2009). "Justices to Hear White Firefighters’ Bias Claims". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/us/10scotus.html. 
  140. ↑ Liptak, Adam (June 5, 2009). "New Scrutiny of Judge’s Most Controversial Case". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/us/politics/06ricci.html. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  141. ↑ 142.0 142.1 Taylor Jr., Stuart (July 10, 2009). "How Ricci Almost Disappeared". National Journal. http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/07/how-ricci-almost.php. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  142. ↑ 143.0 143.1 Vicini, James (June 29, 2009). "US top court rules against city on race promotion". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2936044120090629. 
  143. ↑ Clarett v. National Football League, 369 F.3d 124 (2d Cir. 2004).
  144. ↑ Maske, Mark (May 24, 2004). "Judges Rule Against Clarett". The Washington Post: p. D3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52299-2004May24.html?nav=rss_sports. Retrieved June 2, 2009. 
  145. ↑ Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dabit, 395 F.3d 25 (2d Cir. 2005).
  146. ↑ Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp., 150 F. Supp. 2d 585 (2d Cir. 2001).
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  148. ↑ Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko, 299 F.3d 374 (2d Cir. 2000).
  149. ↑ Gant v. Wallingford Board of Education, 195 F.3d 134 (1999).
  150. ↑ Krimstock v. Kelly, 306 F.3d 40 (2d Cir. 2002)
  151. ↑ Brody v. Village of Port Chester, 345 F.3d 103 (2d Cir. 2003) and Brody v. Village of Port Chester, 434 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2005).
  152. ↑ "Sotomayor on the Issues". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/package/supremecourt/sotomayor-on-the-issues.html?hpid=topnews. Retrieved August 22, 2009. 
  153. ↑ Didden v. Village of Port Chester, 173 Fed.Appx. 931, 2006 WL 898093 (2d Cir. 2006).
  154. ↑ Epstein, Richard A. (May 26, 2009). "The Sotomayor Nomination". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/26/supreme-court-nomination-obama-opinions-columnists-sonia-sotomayor.html. 
  155. ↑ Balko, Radley (May 26, 2009). "Sotomayor on Takings". Reason. http://reason.com/blog/show/133709.html. 
  156. ↑ "Obama court pick could be Granholm". The Washington Post. October 7, 2008. http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081007/POLITICS/810070312. 
  157. ↑ "Sonia Sotomayor: Obama's Supreme Court Replacement for Ginsburg?". Esquire. February 6, 2009. http://www.esquire.com/features/75-most-influential/obama-supreme-court-pick-1008. Retrieved May 1, 2009. 
  158. ↑ United States Senate: Charles Schumer (April 9, 2009). "Schumer, Gillibrand make direct appeal to President Obama recommending he nominate the first ever Latino to the Supreme Court should a vacancy occur during his term". Press release. http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/record.cfm?id=311344. Retrieved May 1, 2009. 
  159. ↑ 160.0 160.1 160.2 160.3 Baker, Peter and Becker, Jo (June 4, 2009). "Speeches Show Judge’s Steady Focus on Diversity and Struggle". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/us/politics/05court.html. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
  160. ↑ Stein, Sam (May 1, 2009). "Inside Obama's Court Deliberations: Sotomayor Most Mentioned". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/01/inside-obamas-court-delib_n_194887.html. Retrieved May 2, 2009. 
  161. ↑ Biskupic, Joan (September 25, 2009). "Sotomayor says Obama's job offer set her heart racing". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2009-09-24-sotomayor_N.htm. Retrieved October 14, 2009. 
  162. ↑ Baker, Peter; Zeleney, Jeff (May 26, 2009). "Obama Selects Sotomayor for Court". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27court.html. 
  163. ↑ Jackson, David (July 16, 2009). "Sotomayor hearing: Republicans get their last chance". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/07/68494597/1. Retrieved August 22, 2009. 
  164. ↑ 165.0 165.1 "White House Seeks to Pave Smooth Path to Confirmation for Sotomayor". Fox News. May 29, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/29/white-house-seeks-pave-smooth-path-confirmation-sotomayor/. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  165. ↑ Stern, Seth (June 4, 2009). "Sotomayor Repeatedly Referenced 'Wise Woman' in Speeches". CQPolitics. http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/legal_beat/2009/06/sotomayor-repeatedly-reference.html. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
  166. ↑ Bash, Dana and Sherman, Emily (June 8, 2009). "Sotomayor's 'wise Latina' comment a staple of her speeches". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/05/sotomayor.speeches/. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  167. ↑ Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (June 4, 2009). "Gingrich backtracks on calling Sotomayor a racist". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-sotomayor_04nat.ART.State.Edition1.51012d7.html. Retrieved June 3, 2009. 
  168. ↑ 169.0 169.1 "Gibbs Says Sotomayor Word Choice in Speech Was ‘Poor’ (Update1)". Bloomberg News. May 29, 2009. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ahtJzE6Msqh4&refer=us. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  169. ↑ "Republicans Begin to Find Voice on Racial Aspects of Sotomayor Nomination". Fox News. May 31, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/31/republicans-voice-racial-aspects-sotomayors-nomination/. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  170. ↑ Vogel, Kenneth P. and Gerstein, Josh (June 1, 2009). "Democrats differ on 'wise Latina' defenses". The Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/23145.html. Retrieved June 4, 2009. 
  171. ↑ Herszenhorn, David M. and Hulse, Carl (June 2, 2009). "Parties Plot Strategy as Sotomayor Visits Capitol". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/us/politics/03judge.html. Retrieved June 3, 2009. 
  172. ↑ "Did Firefighters Stand a Chance Against Sotomayor?". Fox News. June 11, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/11/did-firefighters-stand-chance-sotomayor/. Retrieved June 12, 2009. 
  173. ↑ Lewis, Neil A. (June 25, 2009). "Old Confirmation Wars Fueling Some Critics Now". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/us/politics/26confirm.html. Retrieved June 26, 2009. 
  174. ↑ Silva, Mark (June 2, 2009). "Sotomayor's confirmation backed by majority of Americans, poll says". Los Angeles Times. 
  175. ↑ Blanton, Dana (June 12, 2009). "FOX News Poll: 46 Percent Would Vote To Confirm Sotomayor". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526036,00.html. Retrieved June 12, 2009. 
  176. ↑ "Public Support for Sotomayor Falls After Supreme Court Reversal". Rasmussen Reports. July 1, 2009. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/june_2009/public_support_for_sotomayor_falls_after_supreme_court_reversal. Retrieved July 10, 2009. 
  177. ↑ Steinhauser, Paul (July 10, 2009). "CNN Poll: Do Americans want Sotomayor confirmed?". CNN. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/10/cnn-poll-do-americans-want-sotomayor-confirmed/. Retrieved July 10, 2009. 
  178. ↑ 179.0 179.1 "Sotomayor denies bias in ‘wise Latina’ remark". Associated Press. MSNBC. July 14, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31904261. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  179. ↑ Quinn, Andrew and Vicini, James (July 14, 2009). "Sotomayor cool under Republican grilling". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56B0TA20090714. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  180. ↑ Barnes, Robert, Kane, Paul, and Goldstein, Amy (July 14, 2009). "Sotomayor Faces Questions on Day Two of Hearings". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/14/AR2009071400992.html. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
  181. ↑ Mauro, Tony and Ingram, David (July 15, 2009). "Republican senators question Sotomayor on abortion issues". The National Law Journal. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202432278892&slreturn=1. Retrieved July 15, 2009. 
  182. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay and Lewis, Neil A. (July 15, 2009). "Queries on Abortion and Guns Fail to Break Judge’s Stride". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/us/politics/16confirm.html. Retrieved July 16, 2009. 
  183. ↑ Harder, Amy (July 14, 2009). "Sotomayor Deflects Kohl's Questions". National Journal. http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/07/sotomayor-deflects-kohls-quest.php. 
  184. ↑ Raju, Manu (July 18, 2009). "Left and right both let down by Sonia Sotomayor hearings". The Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25098.html. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
  185. ↑ "Senate Judiciary Committee votes to confirm Sotomayor". CNN. July 28, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/28/sotomayor.panel.vote/index.html. Retrieved July 29, 2009.  Lindsey Graham was the sole Republican supporting Sotomayor. For longtime Republican committee members Orrin Hatch and Charles Grassley, it was the first time they had ever opposed a Supreme Court nominee.
  186. ↑ 187.0 187.1 "Senate Confirms Sonia Sotomayor to U.S. Supreme Court". Fox News. August 6, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/06/senate-prepares-sotomayor-confirmation-vote/. Retrieved August 21, 2009. 
  187. ↑ 188.0 188.1 Wong, Queenie (August 8, 2009). "Sotomayor Confirmed as First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in Victory for Obama". U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-as-first-hispanic-supreme-court-justice-in-victory-for-obama.html. Retrieved August 21, 2009. 
  188. ↑ Siff, Andrew (August 5, 2010). "In a NY Minute: Kagan Quickly Confirmed to Supreme Court". WNBC-TV. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/In-a-New-York-Minute-Kagan-Quickly-Confirmed-100058499.html. Retrieved August 5, 2010. 
  189. ↑ "Transcript of Investiture Ceremony". Supreme Court of the United States. September 8, 2009. http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sotomayor-ceremony-transcript.pdf. 
  190. ↑ Mears, Bill (August 8, 2009). "Sotomayor takes oath, becomes Supreme Court justice". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/08/sotomayor/index.html. Retrieved August 21, 2009. 
  191. ↑ Goldstein, Amy (August 9, 2009). "Sotomayor Reaches Pinnacle of Law With Historic Oath". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/08/AR2009080800982.html. Retrieved August 21, 2009. 
  192. ↑ Sherman, Mark Sherman (May 26, 2009). "First Hispanic justice? Some say it was Cardozo". Associated Press. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=7682271. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 
  193. ↑ Lewis, Neil A. (May 26, 2009). "Was a Hispanic Justice on the Court in the ’30s?". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/27hispanic.html. Retrieved June 19, 2009. 
  194. ↑ "Cardozo was first, but was he Hispanic?". USA Today. May 27, 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2009-05-26-courtcardozo_N.htm?csp=34. Retrieved June 19, 2009. 
  195. ↑ Savage, David G. (August 18, 2009). "Sonia Sotomayor's first vote: Dissent". Chicago Tribune. http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/08/sonia_sotomayors_first_vote_di.html. Retrieved September 22, 2009. 
  196. ↑ Mears, Bill (October 5, 2009). "Supreme Court begins new term with a new justice". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/05/suspreme.court.new.term/index.html. Retrieved October 14, 2009. 
  197. ↑ Bream, Shannon (September 8, 2009). "Sotomayor Gets Her Judicial Robes". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/08/sotomayor-gets-judicial-robes/. Retrieved September 22, 2009. 
  198. ↑ Bravin, Jess (September 17, 2009). "Sotomayor Issues Challenge to a Century of Corporate Law". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125314088285517643.html. Retrieved September 22, 2009. 
  199. ↑ 200.0 200.1 200.2 200.3 Liptak, Adam (June 30, 2010). "The Roberts Court Comes of Age". The New York Times: p. A1. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/us/30scotus.html. 
  200. ↑ 201.0 201.1 Toobin, Jeffrey (March 22, 2010). "After Stevens. What will the Supreme Court be without its liberal leader?". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/22/100322fa_fact_toobin. Retrieved March 16, 2010. 
  201. ↑ 202.0 202.1 202.2 Savage, David G. (June 8, 2010). "Sotomayor votes reliably with Supreme Court's liberal wing". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-sotomayor-20100609,0,5116595.story. 
  202. ↑ 203.0 203.1 "Sotomayor urges anxious grads to embrace future". Associated Press. KOLD-TV. May 8, 2010. http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12450347. Retrieved May 19, 2010. 
  203. ↑ "SCOTUSblog Statpack for the 2009 Term, chart of agreement between justices" (PDF). SCOTUSblog. 2010-07-07. http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Final-Charts-070710-JA.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-07. 
  204. ↑ 205.0 205.1 "Judge Sonia Sotomayor, former adjunct professor at NYU Law, nominated to the Supreme Court". New York University School of Law. http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/SOTOMAYOR_SUPREME_COURT. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  205. ↑ 206.0 206.1 Kirschenbaum, Kim (May 26, 2009). "Obama picks Columbia lecturer Sotomayor as Supreme Court nominee". Columbia Daily Spectator. http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2009/05/26/obama-picks-columbia-lecturer-sotomayor-supreme-court-nominee. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  206. ↑ Vogel, Kenneth P. (June 4, 2009). "Sonia Sotomayor found friends in elite group". The Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23375.html. Retrieved June 5, 2009. 
  207. ↑ "Sotomayor resigns from women's club". CNN. June 19, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/19/sotomayor.womens.club/index.html. Retrieved June 19, 2009. 
  208. ↑ 209.0 209.1 Brune, Tom (June 20, 2009). "Sotomayor's views in speeches scrutinized". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/nation/ny-ussoto2112903197jun20,0,5157937.story. Retrieved June 21, 2009. 
  209. ↑ Savage, Charlie (June 10, 2009). "Videos Shed New Light on Sotomayor’s Positions". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us/politics/11judge.html. Retrieved June 16, 2009. 
  210. ↑ Mears, Bill (June 11, 2009). "Sotomayor says she was 'perfect affirmative action baby'". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/11/sotomayor.affirmative.action/index.html. Retrieved June 16, 2009. 
  211. ↑ 212.0 212.1 Becker, Jo (June 5, 2009). "Behind Judge’s Spending and Income". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/us/politics/06assets.html. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  212. ↑ Sauland, Michael and McShane, Larry (May 26, 2009). "Like all of her life hurdles, Sonia Sotomayor shrugs off diabetes". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/05/26/2009-05-26_diabetes_just_another_hurdle_for_sotomayor.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009. 
  213. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (July 9, 2009). "Court Nominee Manages Diabetes With Discipline". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/us/politics/10diabetes.html. Retrieved August 21, 2009. 
  214. ↑ "Justice Sotomayor to publish memoir". Politico. July 19, 2010. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39932.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
  215. ↑ "Commencement 2003: Honorary Degree Recipients". Pace University. June 10, 2004. http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=2329. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  216. ↑ "Obama taps Northeastern honorary degree recipient for U.S. Supreme Court". Northeastern University. May 26, 2009. http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2009/05/Sotomayor.html. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  217. ↑ Shull, Lori (May 17, 2010). "Grads, Families Celebrate Together". Watertown Daily Times. http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100517/NEWS05/100519801/-1/news. Retrieved May 19, 2010. 
  218. ↑ "Members Search: Search Result". American Philosophical Society. http://members.amphilsoc.org/searchPublicResult.php?searchLetter=&firstName=&name=sotomayor&professionalInstitution=&degreeGranting=&yearElected=&class=&subdivision=&resident=&state=&country=&gender=. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  219. ↑ "Second Annual Awards Banquet". Columbia University. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lalsa/index_files/2006Gala.htm. Retrieved May 31, 2009. 
  220. ↑ 221.0 221.1 221.2 "Sonia Sotomayor". Library of Congress. May 29, 2009. http://www.loc.gov/law/find/sotomayor.php. Retrieved June 2, 2009. 

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Preceded by
John Walker		 Judge of the District Court for the Southern District of New York
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