Sonia Sotomayor

Details

Birth

June 25, 1954 · New York, New York

Death

Living

Law school

yale university

Prior experience

U.s. court of appeals judge

Biography

Sonia Maria Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954) is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, she was raised in a public housing project following her father's death when she was nine years old. Sotomayor earned her bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1976 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York County before entering private practice at Pavia & Harcourt, specializing in intellectual property litigation. Sotomayor's judicial career began in 1991 when President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where she served until 1997. President Bill Clinton then elevated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. During her appellate tenure, she gained national attention for her 1995 ruling that ended the Major League Baseball strike. Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court following Justice David Souter's retirement, and she was confirmed by the Senate 68-31, becoming the first Hispanic Justice and the third woman to serve on the Court. Justice Sotomayor is generally considered part of the Court's liberal wing, often joining Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagan in dissent during the Roberts Court era. Her notable opinions include her majority decision in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014) and her passionate dissents in cases involving voting rights, criminal justice, and immigration. Known for her direct questioning during oral arguments and empathetic judicial approach, Sotomayor has become a prominent voice advocating for consideration of real-world impacts in constitutional interpretation.

Notable opinions

• United States v. Jones
• Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action