Sotomayor:Sonia Sotomayor Biography

Sotomayor, 54, who has been a federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 1998. She was born in The Bronx, New York, the child of Puerto Rican parents. She grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx, a short walk from Yankee Stadium. She was diagnosed with diabetes at age 8. Her father died when she was 9-years-old. Her mother, a nurse, raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, who is now a doctor. In 1976 Sotomayor married while still a student at Princeton University, and divorced in 1983.

Education:

Sonia Sotomayor graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. She earned her A.B. from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1976. She earned her law degree from Yale Law School in 1979. Sotomayor has received honorary degrees from Lehman College, Princeton University, Brooklyn Law School, Pace University School of Law, Hofstra University and Northeastern University.From 1992 to 1998, Sotomayor was a federal judge for the U. S. District Court Southern District of New York. She served as an assistant district attorney for New York County from 1979 to 1984. Sotomayor also worked in private practice for the New York-based law firm Pavia & Harcourt from 1984 to 1992.

Court of Appeals Judge:

Ex-President George H. W. Bush nominated Sotomayor as a federal judge in 1991. A position that made Sotomayor the youngest judge in the Southern District of New York and the first Hispanic federal judge in the state. Ex-President Bill Clinton nominated Sotomayor for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1997.