Sotomayor For Supreme Court

Sonia Sotomayor, left, takes the oath from Chief Justice John Roberts, right, to become the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice and only the third woman in the court's 220-year history, in Washington on Aug. 8, 2009. She is joined by her brother, Juan Luis Sotomayor, and her mother Celina Sotomayor, holding the Bible. Sotomayor, 55, has been a federal judge for 17 years. The Senate confirmed her nomination on Aug. 6.

After being sworn in as the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor, center, is embraced by her mother Celina Sotomayor, right, and her brother Juan Luis Sotomayor, at the Supreme Court in in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. She is replacing retiring Justice David Souter.

Sonia Sotomayor arrives to be sworn in as the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice and only the third woman in the court's 220-year history, in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. The Senate confirmed Sotomayor's nomination Thursday by a 68-31 vote.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, seen here speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the fourth day of her confirmation hearing, has been confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice. The 68-31 vote made her the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

Sonia Sotomayor listens to questions from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, as her family watches at right, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 16, 2009. At right, from right to left are her brother Juan Luis Sotomayor, her mother Celina Sotomayor, and her stepfather Omar Lopez.

Sotomayor and the Senate — AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Aug. 6, 2009, 57 Democrats and nine Republicans voted to confirm Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court justice.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 14, 2009, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sotomayor is the third woman and first Hispanic to serve on the nation's highest court.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor delivers her opening statement on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 13, 2009, during her confirmation hearing befor the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was confirmed on Aug. 6, 2009.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., swears in Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 13, 2009, during her confirmation hearing before the committee.

President Barack Obama announces Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, right, as his nominee for the Supreme Court, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, in an East Room ceremony at the White House in Washington. She was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 6, 2009, making her the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the court.

President Barack Obama announces Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, right, as his nominee for the Supreme Court, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Vice President Joe Biden applauds at left.

Sonia Sotomayor, a 54-year-old federal appeals court judge, is President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court.

Mr. Obama said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any current member of the high court had when nominated, adding she has earned the "respect of colleagues on the bench," the admiration of lawyers who appear in her court and "the adoration of her clerks."

"My heart today is bursting with gratitude," Sonia Sotomayor said from the East Room podium at the White House moments after being introduced by President Barack Obama as his nominee for the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009. Sotomayor is a federal appeals court judge who grew up in the Bronx, graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School and was a former prosecutor and private attorney.

President Barack Obama announces Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, right, as his nominee for the Supreme Court, Tuesday May 26, 2009, at the White House in Washington. She was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 6, 2009, and will replace retiring Justice David Souter.

President Barack Obama announces Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the Supreme Court, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. She was confirmed on Aug. 6, 2009, making her the third woman and first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court.

President Barack Obama announces Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, right, as his nominee for the Supreme Court, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Sotomayor was confirmed on Aug. 6, 2009.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden escort Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, before the announcement in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

This 2003 photo provided by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York shows U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who on Aug. 6, 2009, was confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice. 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.

In this 1998 photo, Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor poses by her office window in New York overlooking the old Federal Courthouse on Foley Square. President Barack Obama tapped Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, making her the first Hispanic in history picked to wear the robes of a justice. She was confirmed on Aug. 6, 2009, two months and 11 days after her nomination.

In this 1998 photo, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is helped into her robe shortly after she took the oath of office as a justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals at the U.S. Courthouse in New York. President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor on May 26, 2009, praising her as "an inspiring woman" with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely. She was confirmed on Aug. 6, 2009.