Wise Latinas Embrace Their New Label

White House holds reception for new justice

(AP) - President Obama today celebrated the rise of Sonia Sotomayor to become the Supreme Court's newest member and first Hispanic, hailing her story and achievement as an inspiration for generations. "When Justice Sotomayor put her hand on that Bible and took that oath ... we came yet another step to the more perfect union that we all seek," Obama told a White House reception for Sotomayor. More»

(AP) - After 17 years as a federal judge, Sotomayor knows her way around a courthouse. But her new workplace is filled with quirky customs and rituals and questions about how to fit in. When do you speak up? How do you find your way around a building torn apart by renovation? If someone knocks at the door while the justices are meeting in their private conference room, who answers? (Note to the new kid: You do.) More»

(AP) - It's Justice Sotomayor now. Sonia Sotomayor has been sworn in as the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice. She's only the third female justice in the court's 220-year history. Sotomayor took the second of two oaths of office from Chief Justice John Roberts in an ornate conference room at the high court, with her mom holding the Bible. She swore a first oath in a private ceremony minutes earlier. "Congratulations, and welcome to the court," said Roberts. More»

(NEWSER) - Justices past and present say no amount of experience can prepare someone for the role Sonia Sotomayor is walking into, the New York Times reports. "I was frightened to death for the first three years," Justice Bremer, who joined the court in 1994, once admitted. As the court's newest justice, Sotomayor will need to swiftly learn to deal with the dynamics of the court's other eight members as she prepares for an onslaught of complex First Amendment, business, and criminal cases in the new term. More»

(AP) - The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor today as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. The vote was 68-31 for Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's first high court nominee. She becomes the 111th justice and just the third woman to serve. Democrats praised the 55-year-old Sotomayor as a mainstream moderate. But most Republicans voted against her, saying she'd bring personal bias and a liberal agenda to the bench. More»