Statement by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) about the U.S. Senate confirmation of Federal Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court today by a vote of 68 to 31:

“I commend my colleagues in the U.S. Senate on voting to confirm Federal Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the newest justice on the United States Supreme Court,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said.  “This is truly a historic day for our country.  Judge Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic and only the third woman to serve on our nation’s highest court.  Judge Sotomayor will bring her proven tradition of excellence to the high court.  Throughout her career as a prosecutor, a corporate litigator and a federal trial court and appellate judge, Judge Sotomayor has demonstrated a deep understanding and commitment to upholding our nation’s laws while seeking justice for all.  I am confident our nation as a whole will gain tremendously by having such an accomplished, experienced and respected jurist serving our nation on the Supreme Court.”

Background about Judge Sonia Sotomayor:

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, 55, 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. Judge Sotomayor brings 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.