Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Sonia Maria Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York in June 1954. Her family lived in a South Bronx tenement among other Puerto Ricans, until they moved to another housing project in Soundview. She graduated as valedictorian from the Cardinal Spellman High School in The Bronx.
Sotomayor attended Princeton University on a full scholarship and graduated with an A.B. in history. She went on to receive her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. After admittance to the New York bar, she became an assistant district attorney, later entering private practice. She was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch as one of the founding members of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, where she served for four years.
In 1992, she was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the bench of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. She served there for six years, when she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a position on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 2009, she was nominated by President Barack Obama to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Justice Sotomayor is divorced from Kevin Noonan. She has no children. She is Roman Catholic.
In the News…
Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that the high court “mistakes” in high-profile cases can be corrected over time, as she adopted a positive tone ahead of a decision in which the court’s majority is expected to reverse the right to an abortion in the U.S.
A minority member of the court, Justice Sotomayor, speaking at the annual meeting of a legal group, did not directly address last month’s publication of a leaked draft opinion in a Mississippi abortion case that includes a request to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973, or any of the court’s other current cases.
But the justice said she believed the court can help people “regain the public’s confidence” in government institutions. “Institutions are made up by humans. Because we are human, by necessity we make mistakes. It is the nature of the human enterprise,” she said.
The justice added, “I think we have to have continuing faith in the court system, In our system of government, in our ability… I hope not through war… towards continuing the battle each day to regain the public’s confidence.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Justice Sotomayor today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20543
