Sonia Sotomayor Confirmed by US Senate

Sonia Sotomayor has joined the ranks of the United States Supreme Court. The Justice, nominated by President Barack Obama is intended to replace the Court's former liberal Justice David Suter. This significant day, Thursday, August 06, 2009, is a day of firsts and a day that continues to see the promotion of women and persons of color to high ranking positions within the United States Government. She has become the first Hispanic person to sit on the highly esteemed bench. As the 111^th justice of the Court, she is also the third woman to attain this high, honorable title. Former Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Ginsburg served as the first and second female justices to sit on the bench.

The majority of the votes (68 to 31) in favor of confirming 55-year-old Sotomayor were from Democrats who took little issue with her liberal stance on important issues of the day. Many of the votes in opposition to the justice were from Republicans who felt that Sotomayor's ideals were much too liberal and far too biased. Opposing Republicans were quick to her former speeches, which they claim indicate that Sotomayor is likely to interject her own personal flavor and bias in the Court that is intended to be neutral.

Justice Mayor came under fire because of her liberal stance on a wide range of issues and because of perceived personal biases. Former speeches from the Justice that were widely publicized during the Senate hearings were thought to suggest that she will utilize her personal experience as a Hispanic woman to rule in cases brought before the Court. She is noted as saying at various events that she is a "wise Latina" because of her experiences as a Hispanic woman. Republicans and the conservative media latched onto such quotes by Sotomayor, fueling claims of personal biases and. During that media firestorm, it was easy to ask oneself how wise it was for the judge to use such rhetoric in light of her position as judge, which is largely considered a position that leaves personal biases at home. Clearly, the concerns of the Republicans regarding the justice's professional integrity kicked up a great deal of media scrutiny, but stopped short of preventing her from adding US Supreme Court Justice as her new title.

In spite of all concerns regarding Sonia Sotomayor's qualifications to serve as the 111^th Supreme Court Justice, she prevailed and received the honor of serving in this important role.

Sources:

ABC News. Sotomayor: Wise Latina Joke "Fell Flat". July 14, 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8083295

Juie Hirschfield Davis. Associated Press. Sotomayor OK'd for Supreme Court in historic vote. August 6, 2009. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sotomayor_senate.