CHC Applauds Historic Supreme Court Nomination

For Immediate Release
Contact: Miguel Ayala
May 26, 2009
miguel.ayala@mail.house.gov

(Washington DC) - President Barack Obama today nominated Federal Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the next Justice on the United States Supreme Court, which would make her the first Hispanic and only the third woman on the highest court of the land, once confirmed. The CHC celebrates this historic nomination and believes that Judge Sotomayor brings with her the experience and credentials to be an excellent addition to the Supreme Court.

"Judge Sotomayor brings with her the experience, discipline, integrity, commitment and intellectual prowess she has cultivated throughout an extensive career," said Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Chairwoman of the CHC. "She has consistently demonstrated a balanced, clear-minded respect for our laws and our Constitution. She embodies our shared belief that, if you are talented and willing to work hard, the American dream is within reach. Throughout her life, she has overcome a series of challenges, leaving the Bronx housing projects to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University and receive her law degree from Yale. We look forward to working with her and the White House to ensure a fair and smooth confirmation process."

Judge Sonia Sotomayor was born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, raised in a public housing project. She graduated as her high school valedictorian and won a scholarship to Princeton University, where she went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa as well as summa cum laude. In 1976, she was accepted to Yale Law School and served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan. She then went into private practice in 1986. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice confirmed in the last 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone in the past 70 years. She was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush and promoted by President Bill Clinton to the Second Circuit in 1998.

Congressman Charles A. Gonzalez, 1st Vice Chair of the CHC, stated "the nomination of such an overwhelmingly qualified judge to serve on the Supreme Court should be celebrated by all Americans. The additional fact that the President Obama's nominee will be the first Hispanic on our nation's highest court is significant and is tangible proof of the strength derived by the diversity represented in American society. This is proud day for all who believe that our country offers unlimited opportunity to those who are willing to work hard and tirelessly."