Sotomayor Confirmed as Newest U.S. Supreme Court Justice

06 August 2009 By Stephen Kaufman Staff Writer

Washington — In a vote of 68–31, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th U.S. Supreme Court justice, and Sotomayor is expected to be sworn in to replace retired Justice David Souter on August 8.

Speaking at the White House August 6, President Obama said he was "pleased and deeply gratified" that U.S. lawmakers had approved his nominee for the highest level of the judicial branch of the U.S. government. Sotomayor will be "charged with the vital and difficult task of applying principles set forth at our founding to the questions and controversies of our time," Obama said. The position is a lifetime appointment.

The Supreme Court’s nine justices make up the court of final appeal from the lower federal and state courts. Political experts believe it is likely Obama will make more than one appointment to the Supreme Court during his presidency.

Sotomayor’s presence on the court is of special historic significance because she is the first Hispanic-American member. She is also only the third female justice.

At the August 6 vote, Senator Robert Menendez (Democrat from New Jersey) said that with Sotomayor’s confirmation, "the new portrait of the justices of the Supreme Court will clearly reflect who we are as a nation, [and] what we stand for as a fair, just and hopeful people."

As outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution, a Supreme Court justice, like Cabinet officials and other political appointees, is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee then holds hearings and questions the nominee before voting on whether to pass the nomination along to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. (See "Nominees for Highest U.S. Court Undergo Careful Scrutiny.")

The president said that in the 10 weeks since Sotomayor was nominated, the members of the Judiciary Committee and the full Senate have carefully scrutinized her legal career, including her 17 years as a federal judge.

"They've gauged her respect for the proper role of each branch of our government, her commitment to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand, and her determination to protect our core constitutional rights and freedoms," he said.

The president said the Senate’s constitutionally mandated role in confirming Supreme Court justices has been "helping to ensure that ‘equal justice under the law’ is not merely a phrase inscribed above our courthouse door, but a description of what happens every single day inside the courtroom."

"It's a promise that, whether you’re a mighty corporation or an ordinary American, you will receive a full and fair hearing. And in the end, the outcome of your case will be determined by nothing more or less than the strength of your argument and the dictates of the law," he said.

The president also thanked the senators for the timing of the vote, saying Sotomayor will be "fully prepared to take her seat" when the court begins its new term in October.

For more information on the Supreme Court, see "The Supreme Court and the United States."