Sonia Sotomayor Independent

She went to stay with her grandparents for a year when she was 4 because her mom had to travel far away with the Army, while she was

Sonia Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York City, in June 1954. Her father died when she was nine, and her mother raised her. After high school graduation, she entered Princeton University where she in 1976 graduated Summa Cum Laude and in 1979 received her J. D. from Yale Law School.

No one has any idea of what the new supreme court will be like every time they are chosen. Even the presidents and officials who appoint them can only presume what kind of future the new supreme court holds. A good example would be Sonia Sotomayor, the first latino justice chosen by president Barack Obama who chose her because he felt that she had a bright future, but in reality she didn’t really stand out much. She is often compared to the first African American and first female justice, who did in fact break racial and gender barriers but weren’t generally seen as intellectual leaders. A trend in the recent decades displays that presidents typically nominate candidates with high academics, judicial resumes, a history of controversial speeches,

“Sonia Sotomayor was born on June 25, 195 4in the Bronx borough of New York City” (A&E Television Networks). She was born into a family that is Puerto Rican. “Her father Juan was a factory worker and mother Celina a nurse” (Academy of Achievement). At a young age she already knew what career she wanted to take on. “Childhood reading of the Nancy Drew mysteries piqued her interest in crime and detection, but the Perry Mason television show, with its dramatic courtroom scenes, inspired her to become an attorney” (Academy of Achievement). She was never confused about her career goals and worked hard to achieve higher standards. “From kindergarten through eighth grade, Sonia Sotomayor attended the Blessed Sacrament Parish School. Life at home for

She was responsible, stood up to Trujillo, and followed her dreams to go to college and obtain a

college. Even though she might have grown up with a hard life, she fought for different ways to

that influenced her life such as having Graves’ Disease and other health issues, but not having health

Through it all she still excelled in high school and was an excellent basketball player, while using these things as a means of escape from the violence that surrounded her. She decided to spend the summer in New Orleans. She worked in a chicken factory as a strike breaker then found work in a restaurant making more money than she ever had before.

In the United States there are three branches to our national government. The Judicial Branch deals with upholding the law and at times interpreting the law. The Judicial Branch is tiered, having several levels of courts, of which the Supreme Court is the highest. The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices who are tasked with hearing important cases and reviewing, when the need arises, certain laws. The level of work, intelligence, and skill required of those who sit as justices in this court is demanding, and only the best can even qualify for the job. One current Justice is Sonia Sotomayor. Her life is the perfect example of how a justice should be.

Specifically, when her mom left the kids alone with her father. "Before mom left, she gave me two hundred dollars. That was plenty... I did the math... I worked up a budget and calculated...I bought food and made meals for Brian, Maureen, and me." (Walls 209-210). She was accountable for keeping up with budgeting and raising her siblings on her own. These tasks an adult would do, and when she grew older, she knew how to take care of herself because of her experience when her mom left the kids alone (Walls

After so many years of being subjected by other people, she finally took her life into her own hands and made an attempt to be happy.

Racism had tainted her life from the very beginning. During her childhood she attended a one-room school for blacks only. She was only allowed to attend school for a short time due to the ailing health of

to focus her life on her family and did not return to writing until 10 years later when she was

on the atmosphere in which she was living. The scholarship being taken away from her,

in her childhood when she had still lived in the Dominican Republic. She was known as