Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Annie Berman, Talk Radio News Service

Today at the White House, President Obama announced federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor as the widely-anticipated replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic woman to serve on the bench, and the third woman in history.

A native of New York, Sotomayor, 54, was born to Puerto Rican parents. After her father died she was raised in a single family household.

Sotomayor attended Princeton University where she graduated summa cum laude in 1976. Later, she attended Yale Law School where she was the editor of The Yale Law Journal.

After graduation from law school in 1979, Sotomayor served as an Assistant District Attorney to New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. In 1997, Sotomayer was nominated by President Bill Clinton to her current position.

Sotomayer’s most famous case was the 1994 baseball strike. Sotomayer issued the preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball which prevented the MLB from implementing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling in this case ended the strike one day before the 1995 season.

Obama had only praise for Sotomayor. “Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system, providing her with a depth of experience and a breadth of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice,” he said. Obama added that he hopes Sotomayor may begin her tenure with the court when it begins its term in October.

After Obama spoke, Sotomayor thanked her mother and brother for their support, and the President for the nomination. “I chose to be a lawyer and ultimately a judge because I find endless challenge in the complexities of the law.”

Sotomayor now faces a daunting confirmation process with the U.S. Senate.