Obama picks first Hispanic judge for Supreme Court
US President Barack Obama has picked the first Hispanic in history to sit in the country’s highest legal body, the Supreme Court.
If confirmed by the Senate, Sonia Sotomayor, 54, would succeed retiring Justice David Souter.
Administration officials said Ms Sotomayor would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice confirmed in the past 70 years.
Mr Obama had said he wanted a justice who combined intellect and empathy – the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans.
Democrats hold a large majority in the Senate, and barring the unexpected, Ms Sotomayor’s confirmation should be assured.
If approved, she would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court.
Ms Sotomayor is a self-described “Newyorkrican” who grew up in a Bronx housing project after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since she was eight and lost her father when she was nine, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings.
A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former prosecutor and private attorney, Ms Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992.
As a judge, she has a bipartisan pedigree. She was first appointed by a Republican, President George H.W. Bush, then named an appeals judge by President Bill Clinton in 1997.
