She is the third woman, the first Hispanic, and the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. Her father died when she was nine, and she was subsequently raised by her mother.
Sotomayor was nominated to the U. Bush in ; confirmation followed in In , she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her appointment to the court of appeals was slowed by the Republican majority in the United States Senate because of their concerns that the position might lead to a Supreme Court nomination, but she was confirmed in On the Second Circuit, Sotomayor heard appeals in more than 3, cases and wrote about opinions.
Her nomination was confirmed by the Senate in August by a vote of 68โ While on the Court, Sotomayor has supported the informal liberal bloc of justices when they divide along the commonly perceived ideological lines.
During her Supreme Court tenure, Sotomayor has been identified with concern for the rights of criminal defendants and criminal justice reform, as demonstrated in majority opinions such as J.
North Carolina. She is also known for her impassioned dissents on issues of race and ethnic identity, including in Schuette v. BAMN , Utah v. Strieff , and Trump v. Sotomayor [ 5 ] was born in the New York City borough of the Bronx. Sotomayor grew up with an alcoholic father and a mother who was emotionally distant; she felt closest to her grandmother, who she later said was a source of "protection and purpose".
