Highlights
Judicial Career
U.S. Appeals Court judge, 2nd Circuit, 1998-present
U.S. District Court judge, 1992-1998
Nominated to federal bench by Bush in 1991, Clinton in 1997
Government/Legal Career
Former N.Y. County Assistant District Attorney, 1979-1984
Former private practice attorney, Pavia & Harcourt, New York, 1984-1992
Politics
Confirmed by Senate 67-29 in 1998
Confirmation to current seat took over 1 year
Was opposed by majority of GOP senators
Was unopposed in 1991 confirmation process
Historic Milestones
Would be first Hispanic Supreme Court justice
Would be third female Supreme Court Justice (second on current Court)
Education
J.D., Yale Law School, 1979
B.A., Princeton, 1976 (summa cum laude)
Academic Positions
Adjunct Professor, New York University School of Law since 1998; lecturer-in-law, Columbia Law School, since 1999
Professional Associations
American Bar Association
Puerto Rican Bar Association
Hispanic National Bar Association
Association of Judges of Hispanic Heritage
New York Women's Bar Association
Judicial Committees & Activities
Former Member, Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts
Other Activities
Former member, Board of Directors, New York City Campaign Finance Board; Former member, Board of Directors, State of New York Mortgage Agency; Former member, Board of Directors, Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund; Former member, Board of Directors, Maternity Center Association; Former member, New York City Campaign Public Finance Board (Mayor's Appointee); Former member, Board of Directors, State of New York Mortgage Agency (Governor's Appointee)
Honors & Awards
Herbert L. Lehman College, Degree of Law Honoris Causa, 1999; Brooklyn Law School Degree of Juris Doctor Honoris Causa, 2001; Princeton University, Degree of Juris Doctor Honoris Causa, 2001;
Publications
Statehood and the Equal Footing Doctrine: The Case for Puerto Rican Seabed Rights, 88 Yale Law Journal 825 (1979); Sonia Sotomayor & Nicole A. Gordon, Returning Majesty to the Law and Politics: A Modern Approach, 30 Suffolk U.L. Rev. 35 (1996)