In my opinion, Sonia Sotomayor stands above the other Supreme Court Justices with her early life. “Sonia Sotomayor was born June 25th, 1954 in New York.” (Winn) Her parents were both of Puerto Rican decent, and they had decided to move to the United States so their family could have a chance at a better life. During her childhood, she had decided become a judge. After earning a higher degree and gaining a solid career, she would become one of the first Latino female Justices to become a part of the Supreme Court. She has made a strong impact on major issues in our country by staying with her own thoughts and beliefs. Every decision she has ever made got her in the place she is at now.
“Sonia Sotomayor was born in the South Bronx metro area
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in New York City. Both her parents, Juan and Celina Sotomayor, were from Puerto Rico. They had to make the decision to leave their entire family in the archipelago, and to move to New York City to give their children a chance at more opportunities for an education and work.” (Grimm). Sonia was diagnosed with diabetes at seven years old. Her parents were already struggling to get by, and she hated to cause more pain between them. She remembers the fighting very vividly. This personal experience gave her some strong characteristics towards the successful judge in the Supreme Court she has become, mostly her relationship with family cases as her was so troubled. Her father died when she was nine years old. After her father’s death, her mother took it very hard, some nights she shut out Sonia and her sister with her depression. Her mother was doing all she could to keep the family afloat. Sonia pushed herself towards her studies to block her emotions out. She became very interested in justice, and wanted to learn how to do her best in school. She graduated from C. Spellman High school in 1972 as valedictorian. Sotomayor then enrolled into Princeton to pursue her dream as a judge. At first, Sonia struggled with her classes and decided to take extra tutoring with her English courses. While attending Princeton she joined clubs to keep her motivated even when she was struggling. A lot of the members were also of Latino decent, so this gave her a sense of home feeling to hear her first language while she was away at college. For more experience towards her career of choice, she became a part of the school’s correction office to help with her legal skills. Sonia was granted some of the highest awards possible to students at Princeton. “After Princeton, she enrolled into Yale Law School and became the author of the school paper. She earned her degree, and started her career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan” (Kleiman). Sotomayor was accountable for bringing down thief’s, police violence towards civilians, and multiple homicide cases. As she gained more work she began to make a name for herself.
She became one of the highest positions at her firm. She continued to earn higher positions, and she also became involved in the Puerto Rican Defense and Education board. “She hoped to help the people of her same heritage as she would have the most effective communication skills between them than anyone else. Sonia also handled the New York City finance board, and dealt with the state mortgage agency.”(Lennihan) Her work progressed, and as her resume grew even more. Sotomayor was becoming noticed in her field of work, she even attracted the attention of several U.S. senators were part of the reason she became a US District Court Judge. Sonia was given a position on the federal bench from President George Bush Senior, when she joined the court, Sonia had become its youngest judge in history. Then, Sotomayor made her way even higher to the U.S Second Court of Appeals by President William Clinton. Sotomayor was declared in the US senate in 1998. During her work Sotomayor started teaching classes at New York University and Columbia Law. In between working for the Court of Appeals, and teaching law classes at high standard law schools, she gained more degrees Lehman, Princeton, and Brooklyn Law, and she became a part of the Board of Trustees with her favorite school Princeton. By this time, Sonia had established herself and was already passing her dreams and expectations as a …show more content…
child. After the Second Court of Appeals by President Clinton, Sotomayor worked with the court to hear over 3,000 cases!
Some of her most famous hearings dealt with professional sports teams. As a district court judge, she decided in Clarett v. National Football League, that high school player’s eligibility would now have them wait three years after graduation before they had a chance to become a part of the NFL. Judge Sotomayor saw herself as misjudged at times. Other politicians expected her a liberal with her ancestry, Republicans saw her this way. This stereotype could easily affect her courts decisions if she didn’t get her true opinion across, but she was more
conservative. In the case Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko, Sotomayor held that victims of a legal violation by a national problem. They would have the right to regain compensations lost against the employee of the state. Even if there was any law against this right. Malesko, was a federal prisoner born with a heart condition that restricted him from vigorous exercise, the prisoner was assigned a room on the fifth floor. Rules that forced prisoners to use the stairs instead of the elevator to reach the fifth floor, the prison saw exemption for this man’s particular case and they allowed him to use the elevator. An employee refused to let him use the elevator, he climbed the stairs to reach his room, and as a result the victim suffered a severe heart attack, and fell back down. He survived the heart attack and filed for an abuse charge, in harsh and uncommon punishment. Sotomayor stated that the prisoner could recover from his damages, but the Supreme Court reversed the order, clearing the prisoner could not gain his right, because the guard couldn’t pleaded to a reserved businesses working for the government. In another case, Sonia gained the approval of the Supreme Court for the first time. It was with a company that had hired citizens with no paperwork. One of the employees reported the case, and was let go. After reporting the incident, and losing his job, the man sought after justice and brought his case on to a higher power. Sonia Sotomayor was the judge that declared the business demand the illegal citizens receive the proper paperwork before continuing on with their current job. This was a very sensitive case for Sonia, because at one point, her and her family were also illegal citizens. It took some time before they earned their rights as true citizens. So instead of punishing the undocumented citizens for their crime, she punished the business for granting a job illegally. “Barack Obama declared Sonia Sotomayor the first Latino female to become a part Supreme Court Justice.” (Ingraham) It just really shows her significance to me above all of the other Supreme Court justices. Her past, and what she had to grow up with. The death of her father as a child, and living day to day when it came to money. They did all they could to get by. I just see her as a more valued person than the rest of the members. I can just look at the rest of them and say, Sonia definitely had it the hardest. She didn’t let any of the hardships of her life bring her down either. She even struggled with school at one time. After reading the different biographies and hearing about her through school, she must be a wise person now that can easily relate her personal values through others. To be a judge of the high rankings schools, you obviously need the high standard education, but it goes back to who you are and how you make decisions. Sotomayor married at one time, but Sonia and her high school sweetheart did not make it very long. Their marriage only lasted seven years. His name was Kevin Noonan, and they mutually agreed that it was just not working out between the two. “Both of them had the same job, and it was very over consuming for both to be in the same practice and still be together. It got to the point to where they were in a competition of supporting one another and Noonan felt like Sonia did not really need or want him anymore.” (Winfrey) Although, she had to give up her love to keep her job, she is still happy. To be a good judge, I’m sure she has to see past an array of lies almost every day, and read in between the lies for any case or proposed law. She always has to make the right decisions, and now just based on how she feels about a topic. How will her decision affect people and benefit the society? I’m sure these are the toughest decisions to make. From my viewpoint, she has the necessities a truly good judge would need. She has rightfully earned her place where she is. I also chose her because she has already left an impression on me before I even began my research. It’s very difficult for Latino females to earn a career in our country. To become a part of one of the highest position jobs in our government obviously says a lot about this woman’s character and how far she must have gone to make it. To get where she is now is almost impossible for anybody of any race or gender in our country. Her story has a lot to do with what we’re trying to achieve in our country from the beginning, everybody to be seen and treated as equal. Not everyone the same, but past our differences. Sonia Sotomayor told herself what she wanted to be, and she made it there.
Sotomayor faced a lot of racism throughout her life, and her family often struggled due to a lack of money. However, Sotomayor still shined through the struggles to show her drive, independence, and her intelligence. These three characteristics are what helped guide her journey of becoming a Supreme Court Justice. She has to have the drive to be able to make a case and form an argument. Her independence allows her to choose a side of an argument, even if she is standing alone. Finally, her intelligence is what helped her to preserver through law school in order to become a
First, the challenge of diabetes. Sotomayor told Robert Barnes, of the Washington Post, “It drove me in a way that perhaps nothing else might have to accomplish as much as I could as early as possible.” What can be pulled from this quote is that she saw this disease not as something that would hold her back from her dreams but something that would drive her harder to her dreams. Sonia also told Barnes that she strived hard to reach her goals before age fifty because she was afraid she would die early. The drive of fear and determination really helped push Sonia to the finish line. Next, her cultural and social background. Sonia overcame this by working very hard: “Sotomayor bought grammar books and vocabulary texts and practiced each lunch hour at her summer job”(Barnes) He goes on to tell us that not only did Sotomayor get better at english and close the education gap but was awarded Princeton’s top academic prize. The video by Bio.com tells us that at school she was a quiet girl and was one of the smartest people in a school filled with smart people. Sonia worked really hard to conquer this adversity so she could go into law. Overall, Sonia Sotomayor has faced a lot of adversity in her lifetime but she has overcome it with great
The Supreme Court has the highest authority in this country and throughout its existence the diversity of people in it had been lacking. On May 29, 2009 a new Supreme Court Justice was nominated, she was the first Latina to be appointed to this position and eventually was confirmed by the senate. Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination speech was a moment that brought joy to many Latinos who often did not feel represented in higher positions of authority in this country. She was the first to break the norm for this and in the speech she delivered to the country via new stations she was able to present to the country what qualified her as a Supreme Court Justice. Former President Barack Obama presented Sotomayor as a person
serving as the first hispanic high supreme court judge. She has undergone challenges, of maybe discrimination. Just because she grew up being hispanic, people have a “stereotyped” version of what hispanics are most likely to be. Being hispanic does not mean doing illegal things, people like Sotomayor could succeed in things she wants to become. Proving everybody who thinks Hispanics are lazy/ illegal wrong. Sotomayor is the nineteenth most powerful woman in this country, she is classified on closing all top case files, and is known for honoring her heritage because she didn’t care what other people said about Hispanics, she went and achieved her dream of having a career connected to “crime in justice”. Sotomayor believes that education is basically the base or the first steps you take to achieve things in life. Sonia Sotomayor has accomplished her past objectives and keeps on having goals to accomplish, continually eager to make modification for the individuals who demonstrate that they need to roll out an improvement. Through her activities she demonstrated that anything is conceivable on the off chance that you set it. Sotomayor has been through numerous snags that she needed to confronted yet despite everything she succeed her objectives. Sonia Sotomayor is a good example for the individuals who may believe that it's conceivable to wind up somebody like her or surprisingly better. Particularly if she's speaking to the Hispanic race, she's a good example for the individuals who did not surmise that turning into a judge in the Supreme Court was
Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to replace Supreme Court Justice Souter on June 1, 2009 by President Barack Obama. After extensive Senate hearings by the Committee on the Judiciary, Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by the United States Senate with a 68 to 31 vote on August 6th, 2009. (Supreme Court) Although it was clear that Republicans had no intention to filibuster the nomination, partisan lines were clearly divided both during the committee hearings and illustrated in the Senate votes. However, due to the Democratic Majority in the Senate, it was clear that Sotomayor would be confirmed. During the hearings, Sotomayor answered the questions honestly, eloquently, and cautiously. During questioning, it was evident which issues were most important to the Senate: impartiality, activism and the ‘wise’ Latina.
"I am a positive person, I never think of the glass as half empty. I just keep pushing forward" Rosie Perez the proud woman who declared this quote is a person who overcame many obstacles and difficulties to bring success in her life, despite her many hardships and traumatizing past.
When asked to write about an important activist who has demonstrated protest, I immediately drifted towards a Hispanic and/or feminist activist. Various names came across my mind initially such as Cesar Chavez and Joan Baez but as a later discussion in class concluded, there are numerous others who are rarely highlighted for their activism and struggles, which lead to me researching more. In my research I came across Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist, who I felt was an underdog and brushed over activist in the Hispanic community.
“Si se puede”, Is something Ceasar Chavez said when he wanted to inspire people and change their lives. Cesar Chavez changed farm workers lives by getting them new rights,better pay, and got them safer working conditions. “Mother” Jones helped the rights of factory workers, but the laws she wanted to be passed didn’t happen until a few years after her death. They both helped workers rights but Mother Jones did a little more than Cesar Chavez because she physically helped the factory workers by getting them safer working conditions so they did not get hurt. In this essay i will be talking about who helped the most and i will also be comparing them both.
Whether you agree or disagree with Chief Justice Roberts’s jurisprudence, the fact that he is unique is undeniable. Not only does he hold the highest position in the legal world but he also has a number of non-judicial duties as well, such as leading the Judicial Conference of the United States, Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution and most importantly administering the oat of office of at Presidential inaugurations. The presidential inauguration of 2009 marked Chief Justices first inauguration of a president. This was the first time a president was sworn in by a Chief Justice whose confirmation he opposed.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the United States. Since its creation in 1789, 112 justices have served on the Court. Of these 112 justices, four of them are women. President Ronald Reagan appointed the first female justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, in 1981; she served for 25 years. Sandra Day O’Connor changed the face of women in politics. Men dominated the Supreme Court yet Sandra Day O’Connor made strides in feminist politics and women's rights by breaking the glass ceiling in the legal profession. She offered an unbiased point of view on many topics including abortion rights, the death penalty, and affirmative action.
Sandra Day O'Connor Perhaps no other jurist could have come to the Supreme Court under greater expectations. When President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981 to be the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, he did so to keep a campaign promise. O'Connor's nomination was quick to draw criticism from both the political people left and right. Conservatives blamed her lack of federal judicial experience and claimed that she didn't have any constitutional knowledge.
Shirley Chisholm was a crucial figure in Black politics, and the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She defeated civil rights leader James Farmer on November 5, 1968, and served 7 terms in the House of Representatives till 1982. Also, she was the first woman and person of color to run for President. Chisholm is a model of independence and honesty and has championed several issues including civil rights, aid for the poor, and women 's rights.
Judges Journal, 6+ pages. Salokar, R. M., & Volcansek, M. L. (1996). Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In R. M. Salokar, & M. L. Volcansek, Women in Law: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook (pp. 78-85) and the aforesaid. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.
During the years the Supreme Court has gone through some changes of its’ own. While Chief Justice Earl Warren was there the first African-American Justice was named to the court: Thurgood Marshall. Chief Justice Warren’s leadership marked a force in social issues. Along the lines of desegregation, election reform and the rights of defendants.