Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated by President Obama to replace retiring Justice David Souter. When confirmed, Judge Sotomayor would be the only Justice with trial judge experience, the Justice with the most experience as a judge, and the first Hispanic woman ever on the highest court. She was appointed to the U.S. District Court bench by President George H.W. Bush, and has served on the Court of Appeals for 11 years. Her modest beginnings in the South Bronx, her scholarship to Princeton, where she finished at the top of her class, and her graduation from Yale Law are an inspiring story of courage and hard work.
Unfortunately, in today's political climate, it's no longer enough to debate a nominee's judicial record. We can expect ads on TV and radio twisting and distorting Sotomayor's record, with the talking, empty heads in the media promoting every false story without checking. In fact, right wing groups already ran preemptive ads that depicted Sotomayor, Judge Diane Wood, and Solicitor General Ellen Kagan as far out of the mainstream, they just didn't know which person would get Obama's nod. He picked a judge that has all the potential to be a great Justice.
