Sotomayor Named First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice

NEW YORK—Bronx-born Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed Thursday as the 111th justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court by a margin of 68-31 in the U.S Senate.

The new associate justice, nominated by President Barack Obama, is the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

Upon the Senate’s “historical vote,” Obama said he appreciated the Senate for her confirmation and delivered words of thanks to the Senate Judiciary Committee members for their hard work. He then reflected on the legacies of this newly appointed judge.

“Like so many other aspects of this nation, I'm filled with pride in this achievement and great confidence that Judge Sotomayor will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice,” said Obama in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

“This is a wonderful day for Judge Sotomayor and her family, but I also think it's a wonderful day for America."

“For the past 10 weeks, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate have assessed Judge Sotomayor’s fitness for this work. They've scrutinized her record as a prosecutor, as a litigator, and as a judge. They've gauged her respect for the proper role of each branch of our government, her commitment to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand, and her determination to protect our core constitutional rights and freedoms,” said the president.

When Obama was asked whether he was happy with the 68 votes, he replied, “I’m very happy.”

Sotomayor, a 17-year federal judge and an Ivy League graduate, will take her seat on the bench when the court’s work begins this coming September.

Along with her new colleagues, she will hear her first case—a high-profile one—that may transform how elections are financed. She will judge whether the government should have banned the release of an anti-Hillary Clinton documentary on the eve of the 2008 presidential primary season.

A few weeks later, she and the eight other justices will select which of the hundreds of appeals that have piled up over the summer the court should hear.