By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

President Barack Obama named federal appellate judge Hon. Sonia Sotomayor as his choice to fill a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, and the first Hispanic to be nominated for the court.

Sotomayor has been on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City since 1998. If confirmed by the Senate, she will replace retiring judge Hon. David Souter, who was put on the court 19 years ago by President George H.W. Bush.

Born in 1954 in New York, Sotomayor earned a bachelor's degree at Princeton University and a law degree from Yale Law School.

She wrote a 2008 opinion in New Haven, Conn., in favor of that city's move to invalidate the scores from a promotion test for firefighters because no minorities passed it. That case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In his remarks announcing her nomination, Obama cited her role in ending the 1994 Major League Baseball strike by way of issuing an injunction in the case, saying, "Some say Judge Sotomayor saved baseball."

In 2003, Sotomayor gave the keynote address at the University at Buffalo Law School commencement exercises. She spoke to the graduating class on topics ranging from her Latino heritage to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the importance of leaving one's mark in the legal world.

"What is our challenge today? It is not to fight terrorism. Our challenge is to keep the spirit of giving that we found on Sept. 11 going in our lives," she told the audience. "You must keep that fire burning in your personal and professional lives. Even though we were shocked by the events of Sept. 11, and our grief was great, we felt good about serving others. We need to keep that feeling going."

She also took the opportunity to talk about pro bono legal work. Less than 30 percent of indigent people who need a lawyer, she told graduates in her 2003 address, are able to find one. "You can help in countless ways," she said. "What you need is the heart and soul to do so. Being a hero to someone else is gratifying. It will give a meaning and a richness to your lives as lawyers that nothing else will ever bring."

In the past she has favored the right to sue national investment companies in state courts instead of federal courts and also in support of extending constitutional-rights lawsuits against officers of the U.S. government to private businesses working for the United States.

Reaction to the nomination has been largely positive, with many citing the need for more balance on the male-dominated court; Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is currently the only woman on the nine-judge court.

New York State Bar Association President Bernice Leber applauded the nomination, calling Sotomayor "uniquely qualified" to fill the seat being vacated by Souter.

"For more than three decades, Judge Sotomayor has devoted her life to the rule of law and the fair administration of justice," Leber said. "From her years as a fearless prosecutor in the office of the Manhattan District Attorney to her work as a corporate litigator, where she tackled complex international commercial cases, she will bring to the bench an unparalleled breadth of legal experience."

Erie County Surrogate Hon. Barbara Howe, president of the New York state chapter of the National Association of Women Judges, said the nomination spoke to a larger issue that she sees as a milestone.

"The one thing I already appreciated when this vacancy was announced was how far women attorneys have come," Howe said. "That is to say, there would be no doubt in anyone's mind in 2009 that there would be an ample array of extremely qualified women to choose from."

Confirmation hearings for Sotomayor are expected to begin in July.

Obama calls Sotomayor an ‘inspiring' choice

In nominating Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court Tuesday, President Obama called her "an inspiring woman" with the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.

He said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any current member of the high court had when nominated, and that she has earned the "respect of colleagues on the bench," the admiration of lawyers who appear in her court and "the adoration of her clerks."

If confirmed by the Senate, she would be unlikely to alter the ideological balance of the court, since Souter generally sides with the liberals on key 5-4 rulings.

Obama and Sotomayor stood with Vice President Joe Biden. It was a striking picture of diversity: a black president, a white vice president and a Hispanic nominee to the nation's highest court.

Sotomayor said she grew up in poor surroundings and never dreamed she would one day be nominated for the highest court.

Obama has said he hopes she can take her place before the new term begins in October.

Democrats hold a large majority in the Senate. Barring the unexpected, Sotomayor's confirmation should be assured.

The Senate Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, issued a statement that said: "Senate Republicans will treat Judge Sotomayor fairly. But we will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law evenhandedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences."

- Ben Feller, Associated Press