SONIA SOTOMAYOR

Born June 25, 1954 in New York City

Sworn in as Associate Justice on August 8, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 21 August 2009 (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, Photo by Steve Petteway)

In 1954, Juan, a factory worker and Celina, a nurse, two Puerto-Rican-born parents in the Bronx, New York, welcomed their daughter Sonia into the world. By 2009, their little girl had been confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice of the United States. Sonia Sotomayor’s path was paved with accomplishment. At seven years old, she overcame a diagnosis of Diabetes. Her father died of heart problems at age 42, when she was nine years old and her brother Juan, Junior was six, after which the young Sonia became fluent in English. She loved reading Nancy Drew mysteries and watching Perry Mason. She recalls that she knew she “was going to become an attorney, and I knew that when I was ten. Ten. That’s no jest.” Sotomayor’s mother worked hard to raise her daughter

Sonia and her son Juan as a single parent and managed to send her children to private Catholic school. Sotomayor graduated high school as valedictorian of her class. As a graduate of Princeton University, she received summa cum laude honors with a bachelor’s in history before attending and completing her law degree at Yale Law School. (See Family Photos at npr.com)

A 25-year-old Sonia Sotomayor worked as an Assistant District Attorney to the District Attorney of Manhattan, establishing herself as an imposing prosecutor who, despite her young age, would not get pushed around. She moved into private practice in NYC in 1984, making partner by 1988. Then in November of 1991, George W. Bush nominated Sotomayor to the United States District Court for the

Sonia Sotomayor threw out the ceremonial first pitch, New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox, September 26, 2009. Final score: 3-0 Yankees. (flickr, A. Jagendorf)

Southern District of New York, where she served for six years — among her most notable cases was her “saving” of Major League Baseball in which her ruling ended the 1994 baseball strike after 232 days, the day before the new season was scheduled to begin.

In 1998, another president changed the course of her career when President Bill Clinton nominated Sotomayor to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit where she would hear more than 3,000 cases and write around 380 majority opinions over the next decade.

In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor as Associate Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she received her confirmation from the Senate in a 68-31 vote divided mostly along party lines.

Sotomayor broke significant ground as the first woman of Color, first Hispanic, and first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. The first case she heard was Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, where she dissented from the majority, which held in favor of the rights of corporations in campaign finance. Within five years on the Court, she had carved an identity as a vocal advocate and tireless dissenter when compelled, especially in cases involving race, gender and ethnic identity. Sotomayor joined the liberal majority on several landmark cases. She ruled in the majority which upheld the Affordable Care Act twice, and in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

Sotomayor is also a published author, including an autobiography, books for young adults, and the children’s book Just Ask! about a garden with 12 children nurturing its growth, and through it discover the value of individualism. Sotomayor, inspired by her own experience with diabetes and its impact on how she is perceived explains, “Each of us is doing what we do best... Each child is doing something to contribute to the garden, despite how they’re differently able.” In a 2017 audio podcast called What It Takes by the American Academy of Achievement, Sotomayor talks about The Power of Words: