Judge Sonia Sotomayor Confirmed to Supreme Court

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor and President Barack Obama

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, 55 year-old, was confirmed today to the Supreme Court. Justice Sotomayor replaces Justice David Souter.The U.S. Senate vote on the nomination of Justice Sotomayor told us more about the Republican party than it did about the nominee. Just nine Republicans announced their support for Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. One of the nine Republicans yeas was Missouri’s Sen. Kit Bond.

In a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, the Missouri lawmaker said the way to get more conservative justices on the Supreme Court is to "work to see we elect presidents who will nominate them." Bond said Sotomayor has "accomplishments and qualities" that make her a capable nominee.

"I do not believe that the Constitution tells me that I should refuse to support her merely because I disagree with her on some cases," Bond said. "I will support her, I’ll be proud for her."

Privately, though, many Republicans see major long-term risks in opposing Sotomayor. After all, Hispanics are the fastest growing group of voters in the country. In 2004, President George Bush won five major swing states with large Latino populations. Last year, President Barack Obama carried all but one. Out of respect, he left John McCain’s home state of Arizona alone.

When President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, he praised her as “an inspiring woman” with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.

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.”

In a news release, Richard Reuben, a professor at the MU School of Law and a U.S. Supreme Court specialist, commented on the significance of her background. “Judge Sotomayor is a liberal centrist who may be influential in helping Justice (Anthony) Kennedy, a conservative centrist and often the swing vote on the court’s closest issues, see things from a different perspective,” he said. “Kennedy cares deeply about the impact of the court’s work on people’s lives, and seeing this perspective may move Justice Kennedy in particular cases, not necessarily away from the conservative majority, but toward more moderate opinions.”

Justice Sotomayor will join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current court, and only the third in U.S. history. She is the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in history, making her the 111th person to sit on the Supreme Court.

She vowed loyalty to "the impartiality of our justice system.," a system that historically has not always been impartial to Blacks and Hispanics.

The religious/racial make-up of the US Supreme Court is as follows:

John Roberts (Chief Justice) – Catholic/White
Stephen G. Breyer – Jewish/White
Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Jewish/White
Anthony M. Kennedy – Catholic/White
Antonin Scalia – Catholic/White
Sonia Sotomayor – Catholic/Hispanic
John Paul Stevens – Protestant/White
Clarence Thomas – Catholic/African American (Although born a Baptist and raised a Catholic, he now regularly attends an Episcopal church).
Samuel Alito – Catholic/White

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