Judge Sonia Sotomayor will become the United States’ first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, after being confirmed on Thursday by the United States Senate. Her ascension to the Supreme Court is a political victory for President Obama. How will it affect the Court’s stance on controversial issues such as abortion and affirmative action?

The United States Senate, dominated by Democrats, voted along party lines Thursday, when it confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The 68 to 31 vote secures a lifetime appointment for Judge Sotomayor to the highest judicial forum in the US.

The confirmation is being hailed as a victory for the Obama administration, and Judge Sotomayor will break new ground as the first Hispanic-American to serve on the Supreme Court. Ms Sotomayor is also only the third woman to serve on the Court and her appointment will mark only the second time in history that two women have served on the Court simultaneously.

Deeply gratified
Born in the Bronx in New York, Judge Sotomayor is the daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants. At the age of nine her father died and she was raised by her mother. Ms Sotomayor attended Princeton University and Yale Law School, before practicing as an attorney. Later Ms Sotomayor became a judge. In a brief press conference at the White House, President Barack Obama praised the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Sotomayor:

“I am pleased and deeply gratified that the Senate has voted to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as our nation’s 111th Supreme Court justice… They have gauged her respect for the proper role of each branch of our government and her commitment to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand and her determination to protect our core constitutional rights and freedoms. …” 

Amazing resume
Despite President Obama’s positive sentiment , Judge Sotomayor faced harsh criticism during her Senate confirmation hearings. A number of Republican Senators attacked a comment made by Ms Sotomayor in which she indicated that her life experiences as a minority woman could make her a wiser decision maker. The so-called “wise Latina” comment was also labelled racist by Rush Limbaugh and other conservative commentators. Professor Vikram Amar of the University of California, Davis School of Law says the confirmation proceedings highlight the deep divisions in American politics:

“Justice Sotomayor had an amazing resume. She had experience as a federal court of appeals judge, a federal trial judge, a prosecutor, a private firm lawyer, she had a strong academic background... and still 30 or so Republican Senators ended up voting against her.”

Hot-button issues
The Supreme Court is America’s court of last resort. The nine member panel is called upon to decide myriad issues often related to topics at the forefront of American society, issues such as gay marriage, indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial and a woman’s right to have an abortion. Supreme Court nominations are always hotly contested affairs given the Court’s ability to fundamentally alter the social landscape and the fact that the justices are appointed for life. Judge Sotomayor will replace retired Justice David Souter who left the Court because he wanted to return to his home state of New Hampshire. Professor Amar says Justice Sotomayor’s appointment is unlikely to fundamentally change the court:

“In terms of the make-up of the Court and the decisions the Court reaches, it's probably not likely to change too much because, of course, Justice Sotomayor replaces Justice Souter, who most likely would tend to vote the same way on a lot of big, hot-button... issues.”

Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn-in as a Supreme Court justice on Saturday. The Supreme Court’s next term begins on 5 October.

Listen to the entire interview with Law Professor Vikram Amar